LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – – Cooperatives in the province are thriving amassing the highest total assets among coops in the Cordillera.
Cooperative Development Authority Cordillera (CDA-CAR) records showed that the coops in the province have the highest accumulated assets amounting to P6.517 billion or higher by P393 million than those in Baguio City with a total of P6.124 billion assets.
CDA-CAR Director Franco Bawang Jr said the province recorded an impressive increase of asset accumulation of 189 percent growth from P2.252 B to P6.517 B within a span of only five years
Topping the list of coops in the province is the Benguet State University and Community Multipurpose Cooperative with assets of P1.622B. It is the only billionaire coop in the area.
Other top performing coops are the Cooperative Bank of Benguet with P795.485M, Bad-ayan Buguias Development Multipurpose Cooperative with P446.955M, La Trinidad Vegetable Trading Post Multipurpose Cooperative with P445.829M, Philex Community Credit Cooperative with P358.765M, Taloy Norte Farmers Multipurpose Cooperative (TNFMPC) at P255.398M, Kabayan Multipurpose Cooperative with P240.027M, Bokod Sulphur Spring Multipurpose Cooperative (BSSMC) with P204.306M, Benguet Government Employees Multipurpose Cooperative with P148.579M, and the Mega Realm Housing Cooperative with P138.694M.
However, of the 337 registered coops, only 227 are operational. Of the operational, only 209 are compliant with CDA requirements as of September this year, Bawang said.
As to allocation per town, the highest total assets with their corresponding number of coops are those based in the capital town with a total of P4.109B assets with 70 coops operating followed by Tuba with a total assets of P783.485M and 13 coops; Buguias with a total asset of P566.608 M and six coops; Kabayan and Bokod with total assets of P323.438M and 12 coops and P218.896 M and four coops, respectively.
Kapangan recorded total assets of P125.491M with 20 coops, Tublay with P102.835 and 11 coops, Atok with P102.757M and 16 coops, Itogon with P56.447M and 15 Coops, Kibungan with P54.468M and six coops, Bakun with P43.576M and 10 coops, Mankayan with P23.429M and seven coops, and Sablan with P6.951M total assets and five coops.
Bawang who presented the status of cooperatives said coops are now making waves in the community and could now compete with regular businesses.
Cooperatives in Ifugao have total assets of P3.83B, Mountain Province with P3.221B, Kalinga hasP3.122B, Abra with P1.59B, and Apayao having the least with P212.336M.
Aside from branching out, establishing satellites and offices, Bawang challenged the coops to establish laboratory cooperatives used as training ground for young members in preparation for them to become regular members and are taught the values of thrift and saving.
Small coops could also merge and consolidate together to make a stronger one and stand as one such that it cannot easily disband and providing more services for the members, he said.
Instilling the concept of big brother and small brother helping each other through a memorandum of agreement is also another challenge Bawang suggested.
The coop’s educational and training fund could also be used for educational tours to other coops in order to learn from them how they were able to make their coops big, he recommended. **JDP/SCA-PIA-CAR, Benguet
