The CSF Section of CDA-R3 is faced with new challenges as it is tasked not only with the promotion and growth of CSF Cooperatives, but with new tasks related to the Finance Cluster as well. One of the said tasks was the participation to the facilitation and coordination of this year’s Global Money Week (GMW).

To ensure that Bulakenyos are also informed of these developments, Ms. Jeline D. Reyes (Section Chief) and Ms. Dianne Marie B. Balleza of the CSF Section paid the Radyo Kapitolyo of the Provincial Capitol of Bulacan a visit.

Radyo Kapitolyo is the official radio station of the Provincial Government of Bulacan. It is broadcasted live via local radio frequency and its own Facebook page. The radio anchor in charge of this particular episode was Ms. Jilian Santos, Project Development Assistant (PDA) of the Provincial Cooperative and Enterprise Development Office (PCEDO) of Bulacan.

Ms. Reyes and Ms. Balleza (the guests) gave Ms. Santos (the anchor) and the rest of the listeners/viewers a brief background on GMW. According to them, GMW is an annual celebration which promotes financial literacy, especially among the youth. As one of the advocates of GMW, the CDA also aims to increase the youth’s awareness on the cooperative movement with the hope that they become highly skilled and financially-empowered cooperative leaders in the future.

With the theme, “Think before you follow, wise money tomorrow”, the guests laid the GMW activities for 2025, highlighting the participation of “fin-fluencers” and venues that have gone viral on social media, where the youth are known to frequent. Rapid growth of technological advancements and the youth’s access to them were also pointed out, which further emphasized the need for financial caution.

On another note, the guests also gave the anchor and the audience a brief intro on the Credit Surety Fund (CSF) Program. They mentioned that the CSF is a special program of the CDA which utilizes close partnership among participating coops, their local government unit, and government financial institutions, as well as other organizations/agencies who are eager to take part in order to give members of cooperatives the ability to gain more resources in the form of covered loans.

The discussion ranged from the minimum amount required to join a CSF coop, the LGU and GFI’s participation in the program, and even maximum amount that can be availed following proper computations.

As the one-hour radio session is not enough to fully capture the details of CSF, which is a whole law in itself (RA 10744), the guests encouraged the audience to attend orientations on CSF that will be encouraged soon, especially since the province of Bulacan and its cities are among the next targets of the CSF campaign. The audience was also encouraged to reach out via any of CDA-R3’s communication platforms should they have queries/clarifications regarding the program.

The radio session ended with pleasantries and a promise to return to further empower the Bulacan coop community’s knowledge on CSF and other matters concerning the Financial Cluster.