THE launching of the first cooperative summit in Baguio City is seen to uplift poverty in the poor barangays of the city, local officials said.
“This must be thoroughly explained as the process of borrowing and lending must be taken into account by each barangay cooperatives to ensure they have growth with what they have started,” Councilor Arthur Allad-iw said in explaining further the reason for the summit.
rAllad-iw said there will always be some misunderstandings within these organizations.
But he said that if everybody knows the purpose, rules and regulations and the process of borrowing from creditors, as well as the process of using these resources to its utmost importance, members of these organizations may well have a better management techniques to grow as a cooperative.
The two-day summit which started Monday attracted more than two hundred individuals. It included a lecture from the Landbank of the Philippines discussing the step by step process of borrowing and the basic lending policies.
The Bureau of Internal Revenue also discussed on the step by step process in getting a registration, requirements, compliance requirements, invoicing requirements, bookkeeping requirements and all necessary guidelines in accomplishing a smooth flow cooperative function.
“The aim is to empower each barangay a responsibility to help each member to become aware of their social duties and functions in their respective community,” Allad-iw explained.
Councilor Joel Alangsab, a former barangay chairman, said it is important for each barangay to have their cooperative for them to have shared responsibility in helping others.
The economic benefit will have a big impact on the lives of its members if they know how to work legally within their limits, Alangsab added.
The summit also was a venue for existing barangay cooperatives and from barangays aiming to build their cooperatives in the future, to raise some unanswered questions.
“It is a sad thing that there are still barangays who do not have their own cooperatives because they do not have the slightest idea on how they could start or what is the importance of having cooperatives in their communities,” Allad-iw lamented.
“After this summit, we hope to learn the basics or if they still need more learning then we could have our own offices open for further learning on creating their own cooperatives,” Allad-iw added.
Existing small, medium and large scale cooperatives present during the summit shared their experience in the process of application.
One member of a medium scale cooperative who spoke in anonymity explains, “it can be tiresome during the onset of application, however, when these applicants can gather and complete their requirements, then everything follows smoothly.”
“Patience come hand in hand, that is why we are here to disseminate the information and answer their questions,” Allad-iw said. (Larry Fabian)