“Quality is Our Responsibility”
The Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) is celebrating the 23rd Anniversary of the enactment of the CDA Charter establishing the CDA, and in time for this event, the Agency was granted the ISO 9001:2008 Certification last 12-12-12 (December 12, 2012), a milestone for the government regulatory agency.
CDA was created by virtue of Republic Act No. 6939 in compliance with the provisions of Section 15, Article XII of the Philippine Constitution of 1987 which mandates Congress to create an agency to promote the viability and growth of cooperatives as instruments for equity, social justice and economic development. RA 6939 was signed into law on March 10, 1990. CDA is the lead government agency in the registration, regulation, promotion and development of cooperatives. CDA pursued its bid for an ISO 9001:2008 Certification in line with the Government-wide Quality Management Program (GQMP) in 2009. The first year of GQMP targeted agencies of government that directly transact with private and public business entities, which directly address one of the critical areas in the World Competitiveness Scoreboard. The CDA, as an agency involved with business-registration related transactions was identified by the Technical Working Group on Awareness and Capability Building (TWG-ACB) of the GQMP as one of the priority agencies for the installation of an ISO 9001-certifiable Quality Management System (QMS).
CELEBRATING ITS 23RD ANNIVERSARY WITH NEW PROGRAMS
To mark the 23rd anniversary of CDA, major thrusts, priorities, programs and policy directions have been put in place, which details the Aquino Administration’s Medium-term Philippine Development Plan and the CDA’s version for cooperatives, the Philippine Cooperative Medium-term Development Plan (PCMTDP).
The policy directions are focused on: 1) Strengthening and Enhancing Delivery Mechanisms of the CDA; 2) Providing an Enabling Environment for the Strengthening and Development of Cooperatives; 3) Ensuring Local and Global Competitiveness of Cooperatives; 4) Promoting Cooperativism as the Vehicle for Social Transformation for People; Planet, Prosperity and Peace; and 5) Massive Expansion of Cooperative Membership.
The 3-Point Agenda, anchored on the PCMTDP, is one of the major priority programs of the agency:
- Membership Generation – As of December 2012, there are 11.6 million cooperative members nationwide
- Human Resource Development – capability building at all levels of coop organizations. CDA has accredited 137 various institutions as training providers.
- Awards, Recognition and Incentives Program or Gawad Parangal – The CDA presented National Awards to 12 cooperatives, one Provincial Cooperative Development Office and one Cooperative Leader. Recognized also are the Regional Winners: 27 cooperatives, 13 Cooperative Leaders and 12 Local Government Units-Cooperative Development Office (LGUCDO) from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. This year, information dissemination of the program is now on-going by CDA Extension Offices nationwide, with Federations and Unions also identified to be nominated as Most Outstanding Cooperatives starting 2013.
ACHIEVEMENTS OF CDA IN 2012
- Full adoption of the Standard Chart of Accounts (SCA) prescribed for the usage of and applied in accounting and financial reporting of all types of cooperatives.
- Crafted, the Cooperative Performance Audit and the Cooperative Social Audit Instruments.
- Activation of the National Coordinating Committee on Cooperative Promotion and Development (NCCCPD) including the crafting of its Terms of Reference.
- Convergence of Cooperative Development Councils in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao that resulted to crafting of CDA Roadmap
- Celebration of the International Year of Cooperatives (IYC) 2012, with the theme, Transformative Cooperatives for People, Planet, Prosperity and Peace. The celebration was observed with activities like the National Show of Cooperative Force attended by at least 25,000 cooperative members nationwide and the Cooperative Advocacy Run 4 Ps, simultaneous with all CDA Extension Offices, to conclude the year of cooperatives.
- Set up of Information Communication Technology Network Structure that allows clients to submit registration documents online and be evaluated immediately by the CDA Registration Division, through CDA website www.cda.gov.ph.
In more than two decades of supporting cooperative promotion and development, CDA is now concentrating its workforce in the strengthening of regulatory service, specifically in the supervision, monitoring and evaluation functions of the agency. The CDA is now in full swing with the inspection of cooperatives covering the area of Organization, Administration, Operations, and Financial Statements. This is to ensure that cooperatives comply with the regulatory requirements imposed by the cooperative laws, related laws, and other administrative issuances.
CDA’S BID FOR ISO AND ITS ADVANTAGES
CDA’s certification has allowed the streamlining and rationalizing of its procedures/management systems. This has resulted in a more satisfied external and internal clientele. With the adoption of the 5S Housekeeping standard, the work environment has improved and paved the way for more productivity among its workforce.
The way to the ISO certification involved a series of awareness and appreciation/ orientation activities, trainings, documentation of procedures, internal quality audit, management reviews and gap assessments.
With CDA’s certification, the agency is certain that it will gain confidence and help in developing partnerships with other stakeholders that can help achieve the goals set in the short and long terms. The current ISO accreditation of the CDA is its Registration Process, for the Central Office and Manila Extension Office only. The immediate plan is to expand accreditation to other CDA Extension Offices across the country. In the future, client-centred functions of the CDA will be certified.
CDA Chairman Emmanuel M. Santiaguel, Ph.D, in his message to CDA personnel said that he “dared, challenged and asked for the commitment of our department and unit heads to go beyond what is expected. To give the agency their best shot. I am happy and thankful to report that they all delivered on what they had promised.”
CDA BEYOND ITS ACCOMPLISHMENTS
The CDA has attained a lot with its new leadership, Chairman Santiaguel, starting year 2011. He challenged all CDA personnel to sustain what was accomplished and maintain the steady and continual growth of CDA as a whole and to go beyond these achievements in the years to come. CDA is now tasked with an enormous responsibility to the cooperatives, its clienteles and partners to prove that they are worthy of the ISO Certification, with International Standards, Systems and Processes.
The challenge now for the cooperative sector is to comply with the requirements of the Philippine Cooperative Code of 2008 or RA 9520 and the active participation to the activities and programs of CDA and the cooperative movement. The involvement of the sector and partners will help the CDA craft new guidelines, policies and procedures that will benefit them in the end. Let us hand-in-hand support the CDA and live the cooperative way of life.
Sourced: THE PHILIPPINE STAR, Monday March 11, 2013
