What are the Privileges of a Cooperative?

Cooperative registered under R.A. 6938 shall, notwithstanding the provisions of any law to the contrary, be also accorded the following privileges:

• Cooperatives shall enjoy the privilege of depositing their sealed cash boxes or containers, documents or any valuable papers in the safes of the municipal or city treasurers and other government offices free of charge, and the custodian of such articles shall issue a receipt acknowledging the articles received duly witnessed by another person;
• Cooperatives organized among government employees, notwithstanding any law or regulation to the contrary, shall enjoy the free use of any available space in their agency, whether owned or rented by the Government;
• Cooperatives rendering special types of services and facilities such as cold storage, ice plant, electricity, transportation, and similar services and facilities shall secure a franchise therefor, and such cooperatives shall open their membership to all persons qualified in their areas of operation;
• In areas where appropriate cooperatives exist the preferential right to supply government institutions and agencies rice, corn and other grains, fish and other marine products meat, eggs, milk, vegetables, tobacco and other agricultural commodities produced by their members shall be granted to the cooperatives concerned;
• Preferential treatment in the allocation of fertilizers and in rice distribution shall be granted to cooperatives by the appropriate government agencies;
• Preferential and equitable treatment in the allocation or control of bottomries of commercial shipping vessels in connection with the shipment of goods and products of cooperatives;
• Cooperatives and their federations, such as market vendor cooperatives, shall have preferential rights in management of public markets and/or lease of public market facilities, stall or spaces;
• Credit cooperatives and/or federations shall be entitled to loans, credit lines, rediscounting of their loan notes, and other eligible papers with the Development Bank of the Philippines, the Philippine National Bank, the Land Bank of the Philippines and other financial institutions except the Central Bank of the Philippines;
• Cooperatives transacting business with the Government of the Philippines or any of its political subdivisions or any of its agencies or instrumentalities, including government-owned and controlled corporations shall be exempt from pre-qualification bidding requirements; and
• Cooperatives shall enjoy the privilege of being represented by the provincial or city fiscal or the Office of the Solicitor General, free of charge, except when the adverse party is the Republic of the Philippines.