By Jerome Alangui-Muguet Polonio, Ph.D
The National Cooperative Summit 2025 will bring together cooperative leaders, policymakers, .advocates, and members from across the country on October 9–10, 2025 in Baguio City. With the theme “Cooperative Economics: Harnessing the Collective Power,” the summit will serve as a platform for dialogue, knowledge-sharing, and collective action to strengthen the cooperative movement as a driving force for inclusive and sustainable development.
The theme will be explored through five interconnected topics:
1. Building the Cooperative Economy – highlighting strategies for strengthening cooperative enterprises as pillars of community-centered development.
2. Mission Drifting: Roadblocks on Building a True Cooperative Economy – examining challenges that threaten cooperative identity and how to overcome them.
3. Portfolio Construction for Cooperative BOD and CEOs – equipping leaders with tools to balance risks, resources, and opportunities for long-term sustainability.
4. Discussions on the RA 9520 – Cooperative Code Amendments – addressing the need to refine the legal framework that governs and empowers cooperatives.
5. Top International Cooperatives: Best Business Practices and Enterprise Innovations – learning from global examples to inspire innovation and resilience among local cooperatives.
The Coop Apex Summit 2025 is more than a gathering—it is a call to harness the collective power of cooperatives to build a just, inclusive, and sustainable economy. By engaging in these critical discussions, participants reaffirm their shared commitment to cooperative values and their vital role in nation-building.
Let me share some thoughts I have regarding the five topics for discussion:
1- Building the Cooperative Economy
The cooperative movement has long proven that genuine progress is achieved when people work together. At this year’s Coop Apex Summit, the call to action—”Building the Cooperative Economy”—resonates as a timely reminder of the power of unity, solidarity, and shared responsibility.
A cooperative economy is more than a collection of cooperative enterprises. It is an interconnected system that strengthens communities, uplifts the marginalized, and sustains inclusive growth. Unlike profit-driven models, cooperatives distribute benefits equitably, reinvest in their members, and foster resilience in times of crisis.
In the Philippines and around the world, cooperatives have played a vital role in supporting farmers, workers, women, youth, and indigenous peoples. From ensuring access to credit and markets to promoting renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, and community enterprises, cooperatives offer tested solutions to persistent social and economic challenges.
The Coop Apex Summit serves as a national platform for dialogue, innovation, and collaboration. Leaders and policymakers gather here not only to celebrate successes but also to chart strategies for strengthening cooperative identity, scaling up impact, and influencing policy frameworks that favor inclusive and sustainable development.
Building the cooperative economy requires strong education, good governance, financial discipline, and innovation. It also calls for a culture of solidarity—where cooperatives work together at local, national, and global levels to achieve greater impact.
As we envision the future, the cooperative economy stands as a beacon of hope: an economy that balances growth with equity, enterprise with compassion, and progress with sustainability.
Indeed, building the cooperative economy is not just an agenda for the cooperative movement; it is a call to all who believe in a just, people-centered society.
Mabuhay ang kilusang kooperatiba!**
