PRESS RELEASE:

SONA 2023: MAINSTREAMING COOPERATIVISM

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr. held his 2nd State of the Nation Address (SONA) yesterday, July 24, 2023. In his 2023 SONA, he proposed reforms and amendments to key laws and policies. Among others, he mentioned the need to amend RA 9520 – the Cooperative Code.

“Upang mas mapabilis at mapadali ang pagbuo ng kooperatiba, kakailanganin natin ang suporta ng Kongreso na maamyendahan ang Cooperative Code,”[1] President Marcos said. He believes that this amendment will lead to an increase in agricultural production and market power.

It is high time that the Cooperative Code must be reviewed and amended, in order to be of better service to the cooperative sector.

We should also stress that the agriculture and fisheries sectors remain to be the poorest sector in our economy despite the fact that they are the ones feeding the nation. Based on the Philippine Statistics Authority, in 2018, farmers, fisherfolks, individuals residing in rural areas, and children who belong to families with income below the official poverty thresholds posted the highest poverty incidences among the basic sectors at 31.6, 26.2, 24.5, and 23.9 percent, respectively. These sectors also registered the highest poverty incidences in 2018 at 31.6, 26.2, 24.5, and 23.9 percent, respectively. As such, the road to alleviating them from poverty is beyond this horizon, if the state will not be able to create an environment wherein the farmers and fishers can sustain their livelihood while at the same time contributing to the nation’s food security.

The Philippine Cooperative Center also advocates for the recognition of cooperatives as contributors and potential instruments toward meaningful economic and social transformation that will benefit the nation as a whole.  PCC, together with the United Movement for the Advancement of Cooperativism in the Philippines (UCMP)[2] and COOP NATCCO Party List, push for amending certain provisions of RA 9520. One of the proposed amendments seeks to expand the scope of “Agricultural Cooperatives.”

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Agricultural Cooperatives – cooperatives whose membership consists of individuals engaged in the agricultural industry, such as farmers and fisherfolk, among others, and whose line of business is related to the agricultural value chain, such as producing, processing, and marketing agricultural products. Agricultural cooperatives include:

I.       Agrarian reform cooperative – one organized by marginal farmers, the majority of which are agrarian reform beneficiaries, for the purpose of developing an appropriate system of land tenure, land development, land consolidation or land management of areas covered by agrarian reform.

II.     Dairy cooperative – one whose members are engaged in the production and marketing of fresh milk, which may be processed and/or marketed as dairy products;

III.   Farmers’ cooperative – organized by marginalized farmers for the purpose of supporting their products, either fresh or processed;

IV.   Fisherfolk cooperative – organized by marginalized fisherfolk whose products are marketed as either fresh or processed, for the mobilization of capital in the procurement of fishing boats, nets, gears, and accessories, for the production of aquatic products, and for access to storage and agricultural facilities

V.    Irrigators cooperative – engaged in the provision of irrigation services to agricultural lands; and

VI.  Others, as may be determined by the authority in consultation with the sector.

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PCC also advocated amending the Agri-Agra Law or RA 10000, the Reform Credit Act, now RA 11901 in order to resolve issues with accessibility, as farmers still have dismal access to loans and credit facilities in the program. Its implementation should be monitored, as banks have low compliance, especially concerning the mandated credit levels. Not only that, they are still averse to lending out to Agricultural Cooperatives.

Furthermore, there is a need to include Cooperative representation in the Agricultural Credit Policy Council, allowing the sector to have a voice in the said council.

Recognition of the needs and aspirations of the sector is a big step towards nationwide improvement. Its inclusion in SONA is also a recognition of the potential of cooperatives. The Philippine Cooperative Center commends all efforts to assist and recognize the Cooperative Sector not only as beneficiaries of government programs and services but also as conduits and partners in nation-building and development.

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Edwin A. Bustillos

PCC Chief Executive Officer

09178017309

Ray John Paul Santiago

PCC Staff

09564490166

[1]  https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1206279?fbclid=IwAR34PhgXfRx0bqGMA8tdxnNF5m9NOA9AeWvgoNv24z1J2-tC2NdgI-o7jzY

[2]     Initially as a partnership between the Philippine Cooperative Center (PCC) and Coop NATCCO Party List in 2020 (the voice for the movement in the House of Representatives), it evolves eventually into an alliance of the major cooperative networks in the movement in 2021— the Philippine Cooperative Center (PCC), Coop NATCCO Party List (CNPL), National Cooperative Development Council (NCDC), the League of Cooperative Development Officers of the Philippines (LCDOP), unions, primaries and federations throughout the archipelago and came up with a Cooperative Strategic Plan from 2021-2025. This year, the Union of Metro Manila Cooperatives (UMMC) joined in the alliance.