Cooperatives: The Wealth Machine

“A cooperative is an autonomous and duly registered association of persons, with a common bond of interest, who have voluntarily joined to achieve their social, economic, and cultural needs and aspirations…(from the Cooperative Code of the Philippines)”.  

Cooperatives flourish in many parts of the country because of their role in promoting social justice and development. 

But how is this possible?

To answer this question, cooperatives are specifically expected to: a) boom the economy, b) create financial inclusion, and c) reduces poverty. 

Principles of cooperatives

Cooperatives exist by certain principles which make them valuable. These are:

1)      Voluntary and open membership. One, regardless of religious, political or social backgrounds, can be part of a cooperative of their own volition.

2)      Democratic member control. Decisions and policies are determined by the members who have equal voting rights of one vote per individual.

3)      Member economic participation. Each member equitably contributes to the capital and receives interest in the capital subscription. 

4)      Autonomy and independence. Coop members control cooperatives entirely.

5)      Cooperation among cooperatives. They work with local, regional and national structures promoting their interests.

6)      Cooperative education. They teach their members and officers about the principles of cooperatives.

7)      Concern for community. They work for the sustainable development of their communities.

So you have now the idea why cooperatives are really for ordinary citizens? Depending on how coops are managed, they really raise the standard of living among their members. They are money machines controlled by their constituents. This is the reason the national and local government encourage everyone to organize cooperatives.  

Coop month celebration

On October 31, 2022, the province and the Cooperative Development Authority celebrated the coop month at the Bohol Cultural Center in order to fulfill the RA 11502 which mandates this yearly activity. To represent governor Aris Aumentado, executive assistant Atty. Antonio Amora graced the event. 

In his inspirational message, Atty. Amora shared the story of the anthropologist who went to Africa. In this story, the anthropologist gathered the children and told them to get chocolates inside a box. But he gave them a condition. They can only get chocolates if they race to compete. The visitor placed the box a few meters and the kids should compete to reach them. Whoever gets the chocolates first takes all the contents into the box.

What surprised the anthropologist: the kids held hands together and walked to the box instead of racing to grab the goodies. When they arrived, they gave each one a share.

The story reflects the theme of the coop month which is “Coopinas: Nagkakaisang lakas para sa makabuluhan at sama-samang pag-unlad”. 

Atty. Amora told the coop officers the province allocated P10 million grant to the coops for 2023. He challenged the coops to continue strengthening themselves, encourage other coops to organize and be exemplars.

A way forward

Examples of many fly-by-night cooperatives could be a challenge among coops in Bohol. Yet, coops can learn from the mistakes of many, especially that their collective well-being is at stake. They have their own creativity and initiative. If others cannot make it, they can simply resolve to be different.

From the start, the members must see that mismanagement won’t waste their resources. They must resolve to appoint only the most capable managers and officers.  

Coops can still benchmark billionaire coops inside and outside the country. Even in Bohol, there are sustainable coops which are worth emulating. The success of coops lies in the hands of the members and officers. With a collective vision, I believe they can forge their dreams.

If individual entrepreneurs usually find it difficult to succeed, it should not happen among coops because they have a better leverage with pooled resources.

We should continue to encourage coops.