Monday, September 21, 2015

Local coop cites MDG contribution to grab Galing Pook award



TAGUM CITY, Davao del Norte, Sept. 18 (PIA)--- Home-grown cooperative highlighted its contribution to the national government attainment of the Millennium Development Goals in its bid to grab the 1st Galing Pook Citizenship Award.

Tagum Cooperative made it as the first Filipino cooperative  conferred with Galing Pook Citizenship Award for “Contributing to Both Member’s Welfare and Community Development” given during the Galing Pook Governance Fair held early this month in Pasay City.



Other Galing Pook Citizenship awardees were the Concerned Citizens of Abra for Good Governance, Inc. for “Community-Based Monitoring of Government Programs and Services” and Balay Mindanaw Foundation, Inc. for “Empowering Communities in Peace-building and Development”.

In its audio and video presentation, Tagum Cooperative cited its involvement with government’s efforts to meet the MDGs  particularly on education, women empowerment, health, environment protection and volunteerism and partnership for development.

It lined up its programs, projects and activities (PPAs) integrating  the MDG agenda on Galing Pook Mamayani Award criteria on Positive Results and Impact, and on People’s Participation which both carried 30 percent weight on judging.

Among  the high-impact PPAs it presented in support to MDG on education were Community and School-based Hot Lunch Plus, Gasa Alang sa Eskwela and Support to Brigada Eskwela.

“Through these projects, we are not only helping address hunger but we have also helped school children sustain their attendance to classes,”  Tagum Cooperative Chairperson Norma R. Pereyras said.

Other  presented programs on education were TESDA (Technical Education and Skills Development Authority) Scholarship Program for Drivers and the Tagum Cooperative 5-year Scholarship Program, its support to community-based  and school-based Alternative Learning System (ALS) of the Department of Education (DepEd).

The Cooperative also counted as education initiative its “Pabilisang Savings para sa mga Drivers Advocacy (PASADA)” which has about 490 members with about P550,000 cumulative savings since 2011.  PASADA was designed to mold the “financial freedom consciousness thru saving” among tricycle drivers.

Meanwhile, Tagum Cooperative also  showed its milestone accomplishments in implementing its Gender and Development and Family Enrichment Program since 1990s, through which women members have been empowered to take part in decision-making at home and in the community.

Pereyras gave due credit to “empowered women members”, the substantial decrease in delinquency rates from 68 percent in 1995 to 7.5 percent as of June 2015.

Among the capacitated women members of Tagum Cooperative are the sidewalk vendors, public market vendors and those engaged in buy and sell. They form part of the Savings and Credit with Education (SCWE) Program designed to empower low-income women micro entrepreneurs to earn more.

Giving boost to its thrusts to economically empower women members,  the Cooperative put up the Tagum Cooperative Women’s Livelihood Cooperative which recently received P278,000 worth of shared service facilities from the Department of Trade and Industry Davao del Norte Provincial Field Office.

In support of MDG on Health, the Cooperative said that it conducted free clinic, mass blood-letting through its Himsug Pamilya Program. It also partnered with hospitals, volunteer medical practitioners and with civic organizations to roll out medical outreach activities.

The Cooperative also made a dent on environmental protection as it presented among its best practices its five-hectare lot at the Accretion Area in Barangay Pandapan, Tagum City as its “Tree Planting and Tree Growing Site” that it has adopted since 2011.

On  the other hand,  Tagum Cooperative spelled out its local, national and global partners  for development baring out its “strong” partnership with the local governments of Davao del Norte and Tagum City.

The Cooperative said that it has been as an ally of the provincial and city governments on peace and order,  integration of rebel returnees,  tourism. It is also part of Davao del Norte Red Cross Council and  of the Girl Scouts of the Philippines, among other organizations.

It also claimed to have networked with international coop organizations such as the International Cooperative Alliance, World Council of Credit Union (WOCCU), Asian Confederation of Credit Unions, Asian Women in Cooperative Development Forum, Global Women’s Leadership Network, among others while also  building alliances with national  and regional cooperative organizations.

Pereyras said that the Cooperative has built  the strength of its community-building initiatives on “sustained funding for education and community development as provided in Republic Act 9520 or the Cooperative Code of the Philippines”.

Article 86, Provision No. 3 of the Code requires cooperatives to allocate three percent from its net surplus  for programs and projects to  benefit the community where the cooperative operates. (PIA 11/ Jeanevive Duron-Abangan) 

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