As part of the CDA NCR Extension Office’s effort to inform and inspire cooperatives on the best practices of successful cooperatives in NCR, another successful cooperative’s best practice worth emulating was featured in its 3rd episode of the BIDA BEST program held on March 31, 2022, at 9 am.

Featured during this program was the Simbayanan Ni Maria Multipurpose Cooperative (SMMPC) which began its humble beginning in 1991 when Fr. Anton CT Pascual organized within the parishioners of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary in the City of Taguig the cooperative with the mission to fight poverty by uplifting and enriching the lives of the people in the community. The Cooperative’s adherence to the practice of good governance in leadership, service-orientated management, and fully empowered membership with the culture of cooperativism as a way of life, led to the establishment of Simbayanan Ni Maria Enterprise Center (SMEC), a program that aims to develop the entrepreneurial spirit of it members by providing access to capital, business education, skills and livelihood training, and economic opportunities.

The program started with an invocation and the singing of the national anthem with Ms. Flordeliza M. Chu, Acting Head of CRITS, hosting the event. Atty. Ma. Lourdes P. Pacao NCREO Regional Director gave the welcome remarks and Ms. Anastacia A. Hora, Acting Supervising CDS gave the rationale for the program. There were sixty-six (66) cooperatives including one hundred seventy-five (175) individuals were present during the event. A video presentation was played to give the viewers a better understanding of the Simbayanan Ni Maria Enterprise Center’s (SMEC) program and highlighted its success and benefits. After which Fr. Anton CT Pascual Chairperson of Simbayanan Ni Maria Multipurpose Cooperative (SMMPC) injected the idea that Filipinos must break free from the mindset that they can only be employees and could not own their own business. Through this program, he encourages cooperative members to be entrepreneurs and instills the value of self-help and self-responsibility.

Fr. Anton CT Pascual and Simbayanan Ni Maria Multipurpose Cooperative Chief Executive Officer Maricar Hernandez received the Certificate of Appreciation awarded by Atty. Ma. Lourdes P. Pacao and Ms. Anastacia A. Hora to conclude the program.