The Cooperative Development Authority Region X, in a program entitled “Cooperative Compliance Drive 2024: Fostering Cooperative Resiliency”, extends its effort to find ways to help the cooperatives who require assistance to achieve compliant status. This activity was done successfully with the simultaneous participation of all the concerned parties in the different cities and provinces of Region X, starting from Cagayan de Oro City and Iligan City last March 19-20, 2024; Medina, Misamis Oriental and Maramag, Bukidnon, last March 25-26, 2024; and on its final leg on April 2-3, 2024 at Tubod, Lanao del Norte and Panaon, Misamis Occidental. Invitations were previously given to all cooperatives tagged as non-compliant, particularly agricultural cooperatives, and their difficulties and challenges were identified prior to the conduct of these Compliance Drives.
Article 53 (1) of R.A. No. 9520 or the Philippine Cooperative Code of 2008, provides that, “every cooperative shall draw up regular reports of its program of activities, including those in pursuance of their socio-civic undertakings, showing their progress and achievements at the end of every fiscal year.” These submissions are now coursed through the Cooperative Assessment Information System (CAIS), which is an integrated and comprehensive online system developed mainly for the document processing of the reports by the cooperatives for the issuance of a Certificate of Compliance. However, cooperatives, most of which are micro cooperatives, are having difficulties in submitting these mandatory reports. Officers of the cooperatives, who were also mandated to attend mandatory training, particularly the 8-hour for Fundamentals of Cooperative and the 8-hour for Cooperative Governance and Management, were unable to complete this undertaking due to several issues and concerns, such as poor internet connectivity for virtual trainings, or lack of transportation in the case of face to face trainings. These difficulties served as a challenge for the cooperatives and for the CDA’s initiative to have more compliant cooperatives. Hence, this activity.
The CDA Regional Office 10, was tasked to conduct these legal fora for non-compliant cooperatives through cliniquing, coaching, mentoring, and other technical assistance or interventions to be conducted. The Supervision and Examination Section (SES) and the field Cooperative Development Specialists (CDS) assisted cooperatives in their submission and encoding to the CAIS, and direct coaching on bookkeeping was given. On the other hand, the Cooperative Research, Information, and Training Section (CRITS), during the two-day activity, conducted mandatory trainings, and said officers were there and then issued Certificates of Participation. Orientations particularly on the possibility of Merger and Consolidation, and consultations on legal matters, specifically on the revival or revitalization of a cooperative that may not achieve this compliant status by the deadline of these reports, were also addressed by the Legal Section.
These cooperatives have shown interest and enthusiasm to continue to fulfill their roles and responsibilities, and hopefully these efforts of the government will not serve futile as the cooperatives must help themselves as we extend our arms to them. Also, this success is only possible because of the vital role played by the local government units, through our cooperative development offices, in giving their full support to our concerned cooperatives.
Finally, this initiative ultimately showcases this meaningful venture of our cooperatives, local government partners, and the Authority, wherein, we can reach the end goal of having more compliant cooperatives.
