More than 943,000 Filipino voters have so far thrown in their support for COOP-NATCCO Party-List in the May 2010 polls, guaranteeing two seats for the Party in the upcoming 15th Philippine Congress.

“It is significant to note that we had 409,000 votes in the 2007 elections.  So this means we more than doubled our votes this year,” says John Neumeran, Party Secretary-General.

The Party conducted a vigorous campaign for votes as early as late 2009 among its more than 400 affiliates, as well as among the more than 10,000 cooperatives nationwide.

“We collated the best campaign practices from among our members and applied those campaign strategies in other areas.  That is why we were able to more than double our votes this year,” Neumeran added.

“But more than our campaign, the reason people voted COOP-NATCCO is that the party has the track record.  For more than ten years, we have worked for a stronger and more dynamic cooperative sector in the Philippines,” stressed Rep. Jose R. Ping-ay from Sta. Cruz Development Cooperative in the Ilocos region.

COOP-NATCCO Party List was established in 1997 and got a seat in Congress the following year.  It networked with cooperative leaders from all over the Philippines and conducted consultations, and helped to draft Republic Act 9520, or the Cooperative Code of 2008.  The Code was signed into law by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on February 17, 2009.

“It is important for cooperatives to be involved in politics because we must protect our interests,” Rep. Cresente C. Paez said.

One of the hallmarks of the Cooperative Code is the professionalization of cooperatives, specification on what constitutes a quorum in co-op meetings, and tax exemptions.

Meanwhile, Emelina Santos of the NATCCO Member Relations & Networking Group urged members “to start thinking about what legislation you want our representatives (Ping-ay and Paez) to author or support as soon as work in Congress begins in July 2010.”

”One priority bill will be amendments to the CDA Charter (Republic Act 6939).  Since we now have the new Coop Code of the Philippines (R.A. 9520), the CDA Charter will have to be reviewed or revised accordingly,” she added.