The Beaconing Light for the Youth in Southern Bukidnon
For the former president of South Africa, Nelson Mandela, “Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world”. The same powerful words have probably inspired the first set of cooperators to put up a kindergarten school to cater the needs of children in a remote area where the Bukidnon Sugar Company (BUSCO), in Butong, Quezon, Bukidnon is located. The problem of transport facilities and the average 45-minute travel distance to the existing available schools in the nearby municipalities for the educational needs of the children had pushed the pioneers to set up a school of their own.
A bit of history . . .
A group of BUSCO employees gathered together to discuss the problem of educating their children who were in their primary and elementary education. These parents were headed by Mrs. Rosemarie G. Alincastre, a woman who inherently had the ability to dream big and face challenges. She was the one who inspired prospective members to join the cause. The first school was named BUSCO-NASUREFCO-Silangan Kindergarten School and was established in the School Year 1988-1990 under the leadership of its founding Chairman, Engineer Salvador M. Bañas. A one-room classroom was then utilized at BUSCO multipurpose building in the staff house area.
Looking into the financial aspect, each member voluntarily gave his share of investment to support the school like the salaries of teachers and staff, procurement of school supplies, equipment and maintenance. Donations from kind-hearted philanthropists were a great help in sustaining the operations. To formalize the personality of the entity, the organization was first registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Department of Education recognized it and granted its approval for the complete elementary and secondary curriculum on January 19, 1990.
In 1993, the group decided to convert the organization into a cooperative and have it registered with the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA). A seminar was scheduled and attended by school officers, registration documents and other requirements were prepared and it was registered on May 7, 1993 under the name BUSCO EDUCATIONAL COOPERATIVE. The same was re-registered under the amended Cooperative Code of Philippines of 2008 (RA 9520) on September 9, 2010. Its name was later changed to BUSCO ACADEMY MULTIPURPOSE COOPERATIVE on June 19, 2012 to include other activities like lending operations.
The challenges of financing support to sustain the operations of the growing educational needs of the community, has been addressed through the strong leadership of the officers and the management. The Cooperative has been a recipient of enormous support from the Company (BUSCO) itself, in the form of construction materials, the lease of two (2)-hectare land and the monthly incentives for teachers.
The Cooperative Profile:
The 29-year old BUSCO Academy MPC is categorized as a small-sized cooperative backed up by the following figures in 2018:
| Total Membership | Male – 35; Female – 45; Total – 80 |
| Total Employees | Male – 10; Female – 13; Total – 23 |
| Total Assets | PhP 6.725 M |
| Total Volume of Business | PhP 4.58 M |
| Total Member’s Equity | PhP 4.519 M |
The cooperative has been a recipient of various awards, at least, in the last 3 years (2017-2019) by the Municipal Cooperative Development Council of Quezon, Bukidnon; for two consecutive years (2018-2019) by the Provincial Cooperative Development Council of Bukidnon; and a nominee for Small Cooperative category in the year 2019 Gawad Parangal Search at the regional level.
