THE PHILIPPINE COOPERATIVE CENTER SILVER ANNIVERSARY

Panata at Pagtataya: Dalawampu’t Limang Taon ng Paglilingkod sa

Sektor ng Kooperatiba at Bayan

(lit. Trans. Devotion and Sacrifice: Twenty-Five Years of Service to the Cooperative Sector and Society)

March 10, 2022 marks a significant milestone for the Philippine Cooperative Center – its 25^th Anniversary. Initially envisioned solely as an agora, i.e. as a physical center for the gathering of cooperatives, PCC was registered as a cooperative on March 10, 1997.

25 years hence, PCC is now looked upon as a coordinating body for cooperatives in the country, and a unifying center that focuses on advocacy and education for and in behalf of the cooperative sector. PCC is also the convener of the largest gathering of cooperatives every 2 years (with its National Cooperative Summit).

The Principles and Values of cooperativism are at the heart of PCC’s mission, vision, and core values. PCC aims to serve the sector by bringing to fore that its being the transforming voice of the sector towards the empowerment and upliftment of the lives of cooperators and their communities is at the heart of its mission.

PCC professes and manages to be of service to the sector by focusing on advocacy and education. From policy papers, inter-agency dialogues, lobbying efforts, collaborations, forums, and related endeavors, PCC has cemented  itself as an active force in policy-making, thereby creating a positive impact for the sector and movement. Even while maintaining its initial purpose as an agora, PCC consults the sector and consolidates pertinent concerns and issues, thereby increasingly becoming an amplifier of the latter’s voice. Through its research undertakings and seminars, PCC has also been a source of knowledge for cooperative advancement and formation.

The Philippine Cooperative Center could not have been realized all these were it not for the trust of its members and founding cooperators – who even staked their own personal resources because they believed that there is a need for a unifying entity for the sector. Additionally, PCC’s members, directors, and employees have vowed to continually serve the sector.

In the future, PCC shall continue to set its sights on the following: (1) for cooperatives to be recognized as the preferred model, the acknowledged leader in sustainability, and the fastest growing form of social enterprise; and (2) to empower as well as uplift, through education and advocacy, the lives of our coop members and their communities.

It is only through Pagtataya (stake, sacrifice) and Panata (vow, devotion) that PCC – and the sector as a whole – will be able to achieve such goals. As such, PCC’s 25^th anniversary celebration focuses on the theme “Panata at Pagtataya: Dalawampu’t Limang Taon ng Paglilingkod sa Sektor at Bayan”. The said theme brings to the surface the stake (pagtataya) put out by PCC’s founding and pioneering member-cooperatives at that time when it was just breaking ground, on one hand; and the vow (panata) that its current member-cooperatives are enjoined to make not only to sustain past efforts but also for PCC and the sector to thrive overall, on the other hand.

With this, PCC will be having a celebration on the 10^th of March. A Mass presided by Rev. Fr. Anton CT Pascual, PCC’s Vice-Chairperson, will precede the anniversary celebration proper. Dr. Garibaldi O. Leonardo, PCC’s Chairman will lead the opening remarks. We also invited Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri, CDA Usec. Joseph Encabo, President Ariel Guarco, Dir. Balu Iyer of ICA, and many more, to share their solidarity message to the sector and to PCC.

For this year’s anniversary, we recognize our roots and the sacrifice of our founding cooperators, and through strong vows and devotion, and continuous stake, we move break barriers and create more milestones for the future. Warmest cooperative greetings to the founding cooperators, member-cooperatives, supporters and partners of PCC in recognition of the sacrifices they have made for and in behalf not only of PCC but also of the sector.