NV celebrates Cooperative Month amid severe tropical storm

October of every year is a celebration of Cooperative Month in the Philippines pursuant to Presidential Proclamation No. 493, series of 2003 which mandates the entire cooperative movement to conduct the activity and encourages wider participation of all sectors of society in nation-building through cooperativism.

Converging on October 29, 2022 at the Provincial Capitol, with the theme “KooPinas: Nagkakaisang Lakas para sa Makabuluhan at Sama-samang Pag-unlad!”, were more than 700 leaders and members of various cooperatives in the province who shared their best practices and success stories and cultivated cooperativism as well.

“The Cooperative Month Celebration, which pushed through despite the onslaught of Severe Tropical Storm ‘Paeng’, serves as a venue for nurturing participation, collaboration, coordination, partnership, and planning for a unified action towards cooperative development”, Mr. Arturo A. Palafox, PROCEDE’s Supervising Cooperative Development Specialist, explained.

Roel P. Dolaypan, Jr.,PROCEDE’s  Project Development Officer IV, represented PROCEDE Chief Juditte L. Asuncion in welcoming the participants. In his message, he reiterated that their office is one with them in the pursuit of strengthening the cooperatives in the province. “Helping the cooperatives is one way to achieve a progressive economy which is in line with the PRAYERS ‘N FAITH agenda of our province”, he added. To conclude, he quoted Governor Padilla’s message during his inaugural speech last July 2022, “Let us unite and face the challenges”.

Governor Carlos M. Padilla who graced the activity as guest speaker expressed his amazement at the participants’ unperturbed dedication to the cooperative movement as manifested by their attendance despite the severe weather condition. “It just shows that cooperatives abide by the cooperative principle, “Cooperation among cooperatives”, he said.

Atty. Franco G. Bawang, Jr., Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) Regional Director, also came to give updates on the latest issuances of the CDA to ensure the compliance of cooperatives with the agency’s policies.

It was indeed a productive day as various issues and concerns affecting the management and operations of the province’s cooperatives were also discussed, along with the appropriate measures and strategies to help address the same.

Highlighting the activity was the conferring of Cooperative Management Performance (CMP) Awards to Outstanding Cooperatives (Small Category) and Outstanding Municipal Cooperative Development Councils (MCDC) in the province namely:

RANKMOST OUTSTANDING COOPERATIVE (SMALL CATEGORY)MOST OUTSTANDING  MCDC
Most OutstandingMarigold Credit Cooperative (Kasibu)Kasibu
1st runner upDupax del Sur United Dupax Multi-Purpose Cooperative (Batch ’69)Dupax del Norte
2nd runner upSolano Merchant Multi-Purpose CooperativeBambang
3rd runner upDA Hillylands Multi-Purpose CooperativeQuezon

Mr. Ely dela Cueva and Ms. Imelda B. Yaban, Cooperative Development Specialist II of the PROCEDE, served as facilitators.

The Provincial Government of Nueva Vizcaya (PGNV) under the leadership of Governor Padilla, through the Provincial Cooperative and Enterprise Development Office (PROCEDE) headed by Ms. Juditte L. Asuncion, supports the cooperative movement by providing technical guidance and financial assistance as mandated by the Local Government Code of 1991. #mvs

Governor Carlos M. Padilla delivers his message to the more than 700 cooperative leaders and members of the province joining in the celebration