“Coming together is the beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.”

Edward Everett Hale (1822–1909)

The pandemic seemingly halted any form of progress or any leap – or even step – forward. As newer strains continue to affect our socio-economic structures, newer economic paradigms are now on the rise. These are paradigms that are people oriented, environment friendly, sustainable.

Cooperativism continues to be that untapped paradigm – at least locally. The Philippine Cooperative Center believes that cooperativism is a paradigm that fits the people oriented, environment friendly, and sustainable approach to enterprising – not merely a social enterprise but a distinct and unique cooperative enterprise. For this past year, it is important to go back to the idea of Bayanihan. Connecting this to Edward Hale’s quote – only through keeping together and working together can we achieve progress and success.

For the past year, PCC aimed to be inclusive in its agenda and activities. PCC held numerous webinars, forums, meetings, and events online. This includes forums and technical working groups with CDA, Senate, and other government agencies. As cooperatives dive in digitalization, PCC also held its ground through events and training – even on-the-job-trainings – held online. In fact, one of our highlights, dialogue with BIR (where they re-release and clarified important points on the tax exemption of cooperatives) was held online.

The whole celebration of the cooperative month was conducted by PCC together with its allies, the National Cooperative Development Council, with Ms. Lucy Furo, the League of Cooperative Development Officers of the Philippines, with Ms. Celia Atienza, and the COOP NATCCO Party List. The celebration was also held online through the zoom platform and our activity with the Union of Metro Manila Cooperatives and Bayan Academy Book Launching event was held hybrid – one of the first for PCC. If there’s anything good that has at all come out of this pandemic, it is the wider, more extensive use of technology for the “new normal”. Webinars have allowed us to reach what could physically have been considered distant sectors, both locally and internationally. Meetings can now be held within the safety of our homes. Accessible, trendy, economic, and inclusive.

During the most trying times such as this, we at PCC will always keep in mind that whatever accomplishments and successes we make will always be shared with the cooperative sector. Because through the spirit of cooperation, its values (self-help, self-responsibility, democracy, equality, equity, and solidarity) and principles (voluntary and open membership, democratic control, member economic participation, autonomy and independence, education-training-information, cooperation among cooperatives, and concern for community) is embedded in each and every cooperative, we – as a sector and as a movement – can surmount any and whatever difficulties we may face in the years ahead.

Full copy of our 2021 Year-end report can be downloaded here: