Bontoc, Mtn. Prov.— With the aim of enhancing the spirit of cooperativism in the province, the Provincial Local Government Unit of Mountain Province (PLGU – MP) through the Provincial Cooperatives Office spearheaded the Provincial Cooperative Month celebration held at Saint James High School Quadrangle in Kin-iway, Besao, Mountain Province last October 4-5, 2019 with the theme “Cooperatives as Leaders in Economic, Social and Environmental Sustainability.”
“We are very grateful to all cooperatives for their active involvement in this provincial undertaking and to the Provincial Governor for readily allocating funds from his office to complement the resources of Besao Multi-Purpose Cooperative and St. Anne’s Congregational Credit Cooperative which enables them to host the coop month activities,” PLGU – MP Provincial Cooperatives Officer Estrella S. Africano said.
Various cooperatives from the ten (10) municipalities of Mountain Province attended the two-day celebration. Gracing the second day of the celebrations were Keynote Speaker and SP chairman of the Committee on Cooperatives Janice L. Barillo, Provincial Administrator Amador P. Batay-an, Besao Mayor Johnson D. Bantog II, Besao Vice Mayor June T. Lopsoten, the Sangguniang Bayan members of Besao, employees of the Municipal Local Government Unit of Besao, non-government organizations, officers of the provincial government and national line agencies.
Gov. Bonifacio C. Lacwasan, Jr., in his message to the participants relayed by Provincial Administrator Amador P. Batay-an, congratulated and lauded the coordinators, the facilitators and the host municipality for the success of the celebration.
The governor also thanked the many participating cooperatives for their contributions in empowering and enabling their members to become more productive members of society, and in improving the living standards of thousands of coop members.
“The government is trying its best to improve the well-being of the people; however, its resources are limited. It is, therefore, with the help of civil society organizations such as cooperatives that progress and development is possible,” he added.
“Unfortunately, some of us become members or officers of cooperatives motivated by personal interest. While cooperatives seek to supplant individualism, we, therefore, encourage you not to deviate from the cooperatives’ defining principles. Cooperatives are organized for the common and equal benefit of every member, and for the cooperatives to serve their communities and society as a whole. Cooperatives exist to correct humanity’s tendency towards individualism – or the motivation of personal gain. In place of individualism, cooperatives advocate the advancement of the interests of every member, not just a selected few,” he further said.
After citing some instances where individualistic opportunism is being manifested in a cooperative society, the governor, in his message, challenged all members, officers and board of directors of cooperatives to avoid the pitfalls of individualism and personal interest in order to fulfills its objectives.
“The success of a cooperative should not be measured by its assets alone, or by the number of its members. The success of a cooperative should be measured by how much it has affected the community that hosts it. A cooperative will only be truly successful when the people in the community that hosts it are equally progressive, whether or not they are members of the cooperative. This is the essence of cooperativism. This is your responsibility as co-ops. Given your track record of success, we are certain you will not fail,” he remarked.
Meanwhile, keynote speaker Atty. Barillo commended all who joined the celebration.
“My sincerest gratitude and admiration to all the members, stakeholders, pioneers, staff, BODs and managers of each and every cooperative. Thank you for sustaining the livelihood of our kakailyans. Thank you for keeping the market alive and our economy rising. Thank you for being our partners in uplifting the lives of the people and for your unwavering support to each other,” she said.
To end her message, she asked all the cooperatives to share their skills and ideas on how to start, sustain and maintain a cooperative to those who are more than willing to engage in such.
“You are their hope as they are also to the next generations. May this be the culture we are to uphold for this year and the next ones to come,” she added.**Imelda U. Sawi, MP-PIO
