On the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Board of Directors of Damayan sa Cavite Community Multipurpose Cooperative (DACCO MPC) immediately addressed the anticipated effects by passing Board Resolution No. 2020-033 which approved a Plan of Action and Precautionary Measures. The said resolution was approved last March 14, 2020 during a regular Board of Directors’ meeting. Because of the swift action of the BOD and management, DACCO MPC was able to survive the harsh reality of the pandemic with the help of its members, officers, and staff.

In the midst of Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ), the cooperative faced many challenges in its business operations, but through the Board of Directors’ early planning and determination, the following were properly addressed:

Challenge #1. Maintenance of employees’ welfare, plus other considerations, such as;

• Protection of employees against the virus
• Employees who commute to the office are mostly affected due to stoppage of transportation
• Employees’ apprehension on whether their absences will affect their salaries.

Initiatives introduced/implemented by the BOD;

• The regular employees continuously received their salaries as they were divided into skeletal staff and work from home status. This way, services to members were continued
• The Board unanimously approved that there will be no deduction of amortization from employees’ loan/s
• Casual employees were given 15 kilos of rice and P1,000.00 each. They were also offered a loan of P4,000.00 each payable in five (5) months
• Board Resolution No. 2020-052 was passed, approving the payment of hazard pay to employees who rendered services during the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ)

With these initiatives, positive results were achieved – high morale of the employees and increased dedication to their work, resulting to greater output.

Challenge #2. How to assist the 2,437 members of DACCO and the community. As all were affected by the pandemic, how else can DACCO help its members and the community? The initiatives introduced by the BOD to address these challengesare;

• Board Resolution No. 2020-040 approving the guidelines on the distribution of 5-kilo rice to all members of DACCO MPC with a total of P495,680.00
• Board Resolution No. 2020-042 approving the distribution of Five (5) kilo rice to indigent residents/families of Barangay Anabu II-B and drivers of the Anabu Pedicab Operators and Drivers Association (APODA), with a total amount of P61,320.00
• Board Resolution No. 2020-043 approving the budget of P10,000.00 worth of goods as assistance to frontliners for Barangays, covering satellite offices in Sillas, Kostal, Greengate, and Pasong Buaya II, all in Imus City
• Board Resolution No. 2020-044 approving the distribution of the second wave of rice assistance to all DACCO MPC members with a total amount of P400,000.00
• Board Resolution No. 2020-045 approving the distribution of the Interest on Share Capital and Patronage Refund to the members as of December 31, 2019
• Board Resolution No. 2020-072 approving the donation of P2,500.00 worth of goods for COVID-19 infected persons living in Barangay Anabu II-B, Imus City

The positive results of these initiatives were:

• Members highly appreciated the gesture of the cooperative that even during the lockdown from March 16 to May31, 2020, collections continued coming in, which boosted DACCO’s operation.
• Non-members who witnessed DACCO’s initiatives became interested and joined the cooperative.

The community activities of DACCO MPC created great impact and were appreciated by the beneficiaries. The said activities promoted the good services and image of the cooperative even more.

Challenge #3. How to alleviate DACCO members’ loan payments? This challenge would decrease the collection as against the expected target, due to the pandemic. Initiatives introduced to address this challenge were the following;

• The management posted an announcement in its Facebook page on how the members can contact and be assisted by the office staff
• Board Resolution No. 2020-046 was passed, approving the loan payment moratorium from March 15, 2020 to May 15, 2020 due to the extension of the ECQ and in compliance with the provision of Bayanihan to Heal as One Act
• Members were allowed to apply for re-loan even if payment of previous loan is not yet 50%, as per policy, in order to put their account on current status.

 The positive results of these initiatives were the following;

• Members voluntarily continued to pay their loans even with the moratorium on loan payments
• Members continued to deposit in their savings account in spite of the pandemic.
• Although the expected target on collection was not reached during the pandemic, the Board and the Management looked for ways to continue, if not to surge, but at least to steady the progress of DACCO MPC
• New members are walking-in and more are waiting for Pre-Membership Education Seminar (PMES) to be attended.

 Amidst pandemic, DACCO MPC stood tall and continuously showed to its members that they could count on their cooperative even during these trying times. Thus, the following positive impacts – from March to September 2020, rather than withdrawing savings, the members provided additional savings which have increased deposit liabilities of the cooperative by P12,589,283.00. The same happened with paid-up capital, which increased by P3,215,400.00. Loan releases during pandemic period also reached P36,121,750.00 which is a good indicator of viability. Even with the government implemented moratorium on loan payments under the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act, at DACCO MPC, members continuously paid their loan obligations. Membership also increased by 241.Out of this number, there were new members coming from the community outreach undertaken during the ECQ period since they were enticed and inspired to join because of the good image and assistance provided by the cooperative for the community.

With DACCO MPC’s continuing success, many people are now lured into joining the cooperative.  Different banks are now offering credit lines as well, seeing the cooperative’s continuous business expansion.

The outbreak of Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has created a global health crisis that has a deep impact on the way we perceive our economy and our everyday lives. Our government is harnessing its capacity to increase the public’s adherence to the safety measures suggested by global health organizations to combat the spread of COVID-19 thus different media outlets and channels for mass communication promote adaptive responses to foster positive health attitudes and adherence to preventive measures. At DACCO MPC, precautionary measures and minimum health protocols prescribed by the government are strictly observed and implemented to protect its employees, officers and members from being infected by the dreaded virus.

Only by acting in solidarity can communities save lives and overcome the devastating socio-economic impacts of COVID-19.No amount of pandemic has stopped the members and officers of DACCO MPC to be able to carry on with the fulfillment of its longtime dream of having its own office building, which will hopefully be fulfilled by December 2020, hence during pandemic, construction of building was not stopped but rather continued. COVID-19 truly challenged us all, but for DACCO MPC, the challenges were inspirations to soar higher.