Senate Bill No. 1807, or the Cooperative Month Bill, has been approved by the Senate on third and final reading on Monday, 14 September 2020. The bill declares October of every year as the National Cooperative Month.
“By practice, our cooperatives have already been celebrating Cooperative Month every October,” said Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri, author of the bill. He chairs the Senate Committee on Cooperatives.
“What we’re doing with this bill is recognizing that practice and making it official, so we can further promote cooperativism on a national level.”
The bill has historical antecedents in the executive. In 1982, former President Ferdinand Marcos issued Proclamation No. 2238, declaring October 16 to November 15 of every year as our Cooperative Month. This was then superseded in 2003, when former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo issued Proclamation No. 493, declaring October 2004 and every year thereafter as our Cooperative Month.
“National Cooperative Month is about celebrating and acknowledging the cooperative sector’s significant contributions to the country,” Zubiri said. “Mula sa pag-ahon ng marami nating kababayan mula sa kahirapan, sa pagbuo ng matibay na komunidad, at pagpapalago ng ating mga kabuhayan, hindi maikakaila na malaki ang kontribusyon ng mga kooperatiba sa ating bansa.”
“This bill is our small gift to the sector that has given so much to the country throughout the years.”
Resource: http://legacy.senate.gov.ph/press_release/2020/0914_zubiri1.asp
