In a bid to ensure the compliance of cooperatives to regulatory mandates of government agencies, the Cooperative Development Authority – Cordillera Administrative Region Extension Office (CDA-CAR EO) under the guidance of OIC-Regional Director Felicidad R. Cenon, PhD., in partnership with the Ifugao Credit Surety Fund Cooperative (ICSFC) and Lagawe Multipurpose Development Cooperative (LMDC) conducted an orientation-workshop on the Credit Information System Act (CISA) which was facilitated by representatives from the Credit Information Corporation (CIC) last November 5-6, 2024 at the Horeb Resort, Lagawe, Ifugao.
In this two-day event, CDA’s Board Member III, Assistant Secretary Luz H. Yrinco, focal of the Finance Cluster of Cooperatives, reiterated the significance of compliance of cooperatives to the CISA which was further supported by the rationale given by Cooperatives Development Specialist (CDS) II Priscilla T. Bejar from the Developmental Team of the CDA-CAR EO. ASec. Yrinco cited that cooperatives with credit facilities are mandated by law to register with the CIC and to comply with the provisions of CISA. Further, she announced that by CY2025, the CDA will actively require cooperatives to submit proofs of compliance to the CISA during the annual cooperative inspections.
During the training-workshop, the CIC, through Atty. Philip Gerald Fulgueras, Ms. Victoria Ualat and Ms. Jocelyn Ibañez gave an overview on the principles behind the passage of Republic Act 9510 or the CISA to 68 participants from various cooperatives in the province of Ifugao. This was then followed by the registration process of the cooperatives which will then be validated by staff from the CIC. Once validated, the cooperatives will officially be tagged as submitting entities. When this is completed, submitting entities will submit credit data to the CIC to form part of its database. Purposely, this is intended for accessing entities to retrieve data that will guide them in making decisions regarding the approval of credit facilities to their respective clients. In the long-run, this law envisions a nation-wide credit system where one’s credit record serves as the basis in accessing loans from cooperatives and other institutions without the need for collaterals.
This event also served as an avenue for the participants to raise their queries to ASec. Yrinco regarding issues in the cooperative sector which she gladly entertained. This discussion paved to an agreement wherein ASEC Yrinco will arrange a future dialogue with the cooperative leaders in Ifugao.
-Edited by MEEM
