THE LADY VISIONARY WHO INSPIRES
Borrowing from the famous Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s…Let Me Count the Ways, How do I count the forty-three (43) years and counting, achievement, experience, involvement and contribution of this Inspiring, Dedicated, Distinguished and Transformative Lady who shepherds cooperatives here and beyond…
Earlier on even before being appointed as Chairperson of the Cooperative Development Authority in 2005 to 2011, this great Lady has already been recognized as Most Outstanding Teacher in their province, Outstanding Manager & Leader – Provincial Search in Davao Province from the year 2000-2004; won the Development International Desjardins (DID) World Search for Community Finance Advocate 2004 – besting 124 nominees from 20 countries; the first Coop Manager who became the first lady President of the City’s Bankers Association from 2000-20024; the lady-Manager who broke the world record in on Self Sufficiency of the Freedom from Hunger’s microfinance program Savings and Credit with Education (SCWE); and awarded the prestigious Anak ng Makasaysayang Cavite in 2007 with Legal Adoption from the Provincial Board Resolutions.
As a firm advocate of Gender and Equality, this purpose-driven Lady received several firsts: 1. First female Chairperson of the Mindanao Alliance for Self – Help Societies – Southern Philippines Educational Cooperative Center (MASS-SPECC), and the National Confederation of Cooperatives (NATCCO) – both positions that had been exclusively held by men for 36 and 26 years, respectively; 2. For her being the first youngest Chairperson of the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) serving from 2005 to 2011, a groundbreaking leadership.
As Head of the Taguig City CDO, she has helped the Cooperatives develop growth strategies so that several urgent policies with the LGU’s support are in in place benefiting Taguig City Cooperatives, at the same time contributing the following distinction and enabling initiatives: 1. Approval of Ordinance 154 due to her relentless endorsement together with City Councilors, Taguig CDC Officers, Unions (COUNTPA, UDPSC) until approved, Ordinance No. 154 – Granting Local Tax Exemption For Cooperatives Registered and Operating in the City of Taguig whose provisions now empower and benefit the Cooperatives of Taguig City (With 2 other pending Ordinances); 2. Concept Implementation of recognizing deserving coop personalities/leaders/members, and the cooperatives based on CDA’s prudential standards by awarding them the Taguig Icon Award of 2023; 3. having the most number of Koop Kapatid Program Memorandum Of Agreement forged and successfully implemented; 4. Composing the largest delegation numbering 1,014 during the Philippines launching of the 2025 International Year of Cooperatives; 5. The first CDO in the NCR if not the whole country to come up with the Gender-Disaggregated Data in 2023 up to present; 6. Initiated the most efficient and effective mechanism for CDA COC handholding program which enabled the most number of Cooperatives with issued Certificate of Compliance (COC) since the 2023 – 2025 Handholding Caravan; 7. The first CDO to undertake the “Ugnayan sa Kooperatiba” a CDA Program which brought all relevant NGAs and the cooperatives together for an interactive discussion and forum on government services, programs and initiatives as well cooperatives issues; and 8. The first CDO that mainstreams the city’s cooperative sector to the international cooperative movement by actively celebrating the International Cooperative Day since year 2022.
Leadership‐management, this visionary Lady is much in demand. Records show her engagement with prestigious agencies known nationally and internationally, being an Accredited Subject Matter Expert (SME), Trainer, Resource Speaker and Consultant to government corporations with programs on cooperatives and MFIs. She was also a Member of the UN Expert Group for the United Nations Declaration of International Year of Cooperatives in 2012 under the UN/DESA. She is also a Women Sector Representative to the National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC); Her solid development perspective was enriched with her being a Development Educator for Asia and Australia (DE Asia & DE Australia); Member of Asian Leaders and Managers Institute (ALMI); and EXECOM Member of the Asian Women in Cooperative Development Forum (AWCF).
MS. BING JUAREZ is a Managing Director (2012-present) of Asia Pacific Center for Training and Research in Agri-Banking (APRACA-CENTRAB) in Manila and at the same time shepherds the Taguig City Cooperative Development Office. And recently, her Taguig CDO was elected President of the Metro Manila Association of Cooperative Development Officers (MEMACDO) or League of Cooperative Development Officers of the Philippines NCR Chapter.
In closing, let us pay tribute to this visionary and transformative lady, The Lady of the 2026 Women’s Month, Ms. Bing Juarez.
