LAGAWE, IFUGAO – – Board Member Agustin Calya-en sought the passage of the Cooperative Council of Ifugao Ordinance that the provincial government endorsed in the past several years.
Calya-en, 51, chairman of the Committee on Cooperatives and People’s Organizations, said the law is needed to address the needs of every cooperative in the province.
“Let us consider the position and thrust of President Duterte and his administration to help advance the cause of cooperatives in the country in the next three years,” Calya-en said as he map out plans to stress its importance in a planned privilege and sponsorship speech at the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP).
“Ifugao is ready for its creation and you can be assured that the SP shall support this initiative,” Calya-en said in an exclusive interview with the ZigZag Weekly.
He also said that the SP is supportive of the other concerns of cooperatives in Ifugao.
“We are confident because we have been engaging them for many years,” he added.
The committee on cooperatives and people’s organizations will need to redefine its role from largely just another non-performing standing committee of the SP to a leading role in development planning of stakeholders in cooperatives and people’s organizations. For one, the function of the committee is that of providing guidance and approval of proposed measures affecting concerned entities.
For now, the committee should focus on conducting interactive activities. Apart from committee hearings, it may hold consultative meetings. Through the consultative activity, the people now look forward to expressing their sentiments to the government.
Indeed, cooperative members are looking forward to actions to be taken by this committee to help them build productive and meaningful lives. It should also drive economic benefits for local communities, most especially depressed ones.
More work would have to be done to improve the conditions of Ifugao folks. Ifugao is one of the poorest provinces in the Philippines. This meant that concrete actions by the new officials of the provincial government would still be needed.
Several cooperatives have encouraged the SP to raise the level of efficiency in the delivery of services of cooperatives in the Province. Should the members of the SP heed this request, the cooperative sector would ask the SP to pass a law outlining the creation of the Ifugao Cooperative Council.
As these concerns developed a number of leaders in the cooperative movement opted to run and eventually emerged victorious in the last May polls to influence the cooperative sector’s stance and outlook. One of them was Board Member Calya-en.
Calya-en served as vice mayor of Tinoc from 2010 to 2016. He is the manager of the Tinoc-based Kalanguya Cultural Community Multipurpose Cooperative (KCCMC). Through hard work and exemplary leadership, Calya-en, together with his officers, has successfully elevated the KCCMC to become one of the largest providers of quality services in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR). Verily, Calya-en has a “considerable advantage” over the others at the SP for the swift passage of this ordinance, this seemingly fast-developing move showed.
“Board Member Calya-en is a leader in the cooperative movement in the province and he knew well where he stand when the passage of the proposed ordinance should take place,” a cooperative member in Kiangan asserted.
“I strongly support this effort as we (at the SP) are sensitive to the needs of our people who have clamored over the years for such action,” he told the ZigZag Weekly.
Institutional reforms for cooperatives covers a lot, the SP should focus on a particular reform: the improvement of the plight of cash-starved members of cooperative. The overriding challenge of the time is to eradicate poverty.
Speaking on the sidelines of a recent session of the SP, Calya-en said “the Ifugao cooperative member experience illustrates the necessity of undertaking the creation of this council,” Calya-en pointed out.
Of course, enacting the ordinance is “the right thing” as legislated action would enable the cooperative sector to maintain an acceptable operational standard. Thus, the SP should heed its mandate to act on this matter.
The positive response to Board Member Calya-en’s initiative by his colleagues in the committee such as vice chairman Geronimo Bimohya as well as Ceasario Cabbigat, Perfecta Dulnuan and Noli Maguiwe is expected to encourage thoughtful and speedy action for its approval.
But wait, there’s more.
Remember, too, that most Ifugao cooperative’s performance pales in comparison when range to their counterparts in the Cordilleras and elsewhere. There is a pressing need to make their services globally competitive, to create quality jobs and move up the value chain.
Harnessing the collective effort of the province’s cooperatives through the proposed measure is totally important. It’s one thing to want the creation of the council and another to actually take the steps to make it a reality.
The planned council itself should be composed of the very best men and women in the cooperative sector rather than provincial government key figures. If a huge number of them end up comprising this council, members of the cooperative sector would lose their soul. Then it is an exercise in futility.
The committee on cooperatives and people’s organizations is also one of the more distinct committee, of the SP because it empowers the economically-underserved folks in the province. The council, therefore, should pursue its mission of developing and transforming cooperative members to be financially secured and socially responsible.
In this modern setting of transactions and communications, is the planned Ifugao Cooperative Council still relevant? Does its creation have something to say on the development of the cooperative sector? In particular, is the Ifugao cooperative sector still relevant?
A closer look and a more careful consideration of each of these dimensions of a modern-day cooperative might show that the cooperative sector has something to say and it has immense relevance to the growth and development of the province.
In recent years, interest has shifted to out-of-the-box mindset in creating provincial cooperative councils with a pronounced creative twist. In other words, the need for planners to be creative easily arises. An outdated proposal, with a project title of “Creation of a Provincial Cooperative Council,” was obtained by this scribe. It was drafted during the tenure of Gov. Teodoro Baguilat Jr. Baguilat served Ifugao in such capacity from 2007 to 2010. Baguilat, a former congressman for three terms, ran and lost for governor in the last elections. Words, provisions and usual run-of-the-mill embellishments describe the operations of a “social club.” If Board Member Calya-en simply adopts it, the eyed council is headed in the direction of being one.
If the proposal seems intimidating, consider its plan to hold a “Lakbay Aral” (Study Tour) activity. “It involves observation tour of various sectors from different provinces and observation tour of cooperatives abroad,” it states. Is the goal then is to have fun and adventure? Even a Grade 4 pupil would ask why they should go overseas for this purpose when there are cooperatives right here in the Philippines. Most of all, it is about using public funds judiciously, prudently and wisely at all times. Most reflections early on seem centered on having “foreign junkets.” President Duterte fired National Urban Poor Commission head Teddy Ridon, a former Kabataan party-list representative, reportedly because of his numerous foreign trips. It is very hard to understand if many Ifugao folks still are unaware of Ridon’s sacking. Quite frankly, it is a frightening scenario.
Creation of a well-meaning Ifugao Cooperative Council and just another “social club” bodes well for a positive atmosphere to push forward the cooperative agenda. It should have unshakeable willpower, sufficient capacity and enough confidence to inspire and motivate cooperatives to work and get their acts together instead of just being an assisting body of highly-placed officials of the provincial government.
With ample assistance from the provincial government in terms of funds and not merely enticements for cooperatives to acquire accreditation status from the SP, ultimately, the cooperatives are to continue playing an important role as driver of economic expansion in the province. For instance, unutilized allocations of the SP should be tapped to help framers cooperatives in purchasing much-needed equipment. Verbal promises fall far short of what is needed to protect the multitudes of mostly Ifugao low-earning farmers.
It isn’t easy to find these days public servants who are willing to stand up for the cooperative sector. Agustin Calya-en is an exemption—he fights for the welfare of the ordinary people who invested their hard-earned money in one of the 20 or more cooperatives in Ifugao. Small wonder, Board Member Calya-en is amenable to enacting a law for the creation of the Ifugao Cooperative Council. More precisely, he is bent on fast-tracking the same. This early, Board Member Calya-en did as “outstanding job” in his first month in office, particularly to promote the cause of cooperatives and people’s organizations.
Board Member Calya-en’s mission for building communities with cooperatives and people’s organizations at the forefront continues throughout the province. Many are fully aware that poor Ifugao folks in the cooperative sector appreciate Calya-en’s conviction in their own time and place. This is an auspicious start in the task of building vibrant communities around Ifugao. The challenge is indeed a blessing for present and future generations, too. It is tremendously important to respond positively to this challenge. **By Anthony A. Araos
