THE PHILIPPINE Chamber of Cooperatives said measures to amend the Cooperative Code of 2008 or Republic Act 9520 should allow cooperatives to freely form federations among themselves even if they are not in the same line of business.

“We humbly submit that the creation of federations should not be limited to only the same line of business because this would limit the growth of cooperatives in terms of the financial aspect,” Noel D. Raboy, founding trustee of the chamber, said in a position paper on House Bill No. 9450, which seeks to amend the Cooperative Code of the Philippines sent to Business World recently.

“We must give utmost freedom to cooperatives in forming federations among themselves.”

Under the House measure, cooperatives can form federations only with those engaged in the same line of business. 

For instance, transport cooperatives may join only a federation of transport co-ops.  Likewise, agricultural co-ops may join only agricultural co-op federations.  

The Senate is in the middle of consultations on whether the cooperative code needs to be amended to encourage growth and introduce more investment.

The Philippine Chamber of Cooperatives Inc. was established in November 2023 by cooperative leaders all over the country, and is registered with the Securities & Exchange Commission.  

The purpose of the Philippine Chamber of Cooperatives is to promote and support the growth and development of cooperative enterprises in a particular area or region.

A case in point is NATCCO Network, which currently has 67 transport co-operatives, more than one hundred agricultural or agrarian reform cooperatives, and more than a hundred multi-purpose cooperatives with varied businesses - all needing the services of NATCCO, which is primarily a federation belonging to the "finance cluster".  

At the online discussions in the Senate on April 2, NATCCO Chief Executive Officer Sylvia Paraguya said cooperatives are now moving toward multi-purpose enterprises.  

Thus, NATCCO has also taken the position that a primary cooperative should be given the freedom to join any federation that the leaders deem to be good for business operations.

By John Victor D. Ordoñez

https://www.bworldonline.com/the-nation/2024/03/11/581055/cooperative-federations-pushed/

with additions by Diosdado L. Luna, NATCCO Network