CLARK FREEPORT – Governor Lilia “Nanay” Pineda underscored the importance of cooperatives in enhancing the capabilities of the small, micro, and medium enterprises which in turn can be beneficial to the province’ economy.
This was gleaned during the 1st Pampanga Cooperative Summit and “Galal Parangal kareng Kooperatiba king Pampanga” held recently at Royce Hotel and Casino here.
Pineda said that the cooperatives in Pampanga are “silent workers” who boost the economy of Pampanga.
“We should all ditch out our bad perspective towards cooperatives. They are our silent workers in Pampanga’s economy. Daig pa nila ang mga bangko kasi para silang samahan: nagbibigayan, nagtutulungan, nagmamahalan,” she said.
She also expressed her joy upon hearing the success stories of entrepreneurs who were helped by the cooperatives.
“Gusto kong nakakarinig ng mga success stories ng mga negosyanteng natulungan ng mga kooperatiba. Kailangan maging modelo sila para mawala na yung masamang imahe ng mga kooperatiba sa publiko,” the lady governor added.
She then asked the cooperatives to help her, the Committee on Cooperatives chaired by Board Member Anthony Joseph Torres, and Pampanga Provincial Cooperative and Entrepreneurial Development Office (PCEDO) headed by Luningning Vergara in creating a provincial cooperative modelled after them.
Some cooperatives per category received awards and recognition during the program.
For Large Scale Category, Golden Group Gabay Puhunan Brotherhood Multipurpose Cooperative (MPC) received the award for best in organizational management and best in financial management while ASCCOM MPC and Apung Monica de Minalin MPC got the best in community service award.
For Medium Category, Don Honorio Ventura Technological State University (DHVTSU) MPC got the Best in Organizational Management, St. James the Apostle MPC was awarded best in community service, while Pampanga High School MPC was given the best in financial management award.
For the Small Scale Category, Sta. Ana Agricultural MPC got the best in organizational management award, San Simon MPC got best in community service award and San Fernando Elementary School MPC got the best in financial management award.
The Most Outstanding Cooperatives for the Micro Scale Category was awarded to Nayong Tsinoy Credit Cooperative; San Fernando Elementary School MPC for Small Scale; DHVTSU MPC for Medium Scale and Apung Monica de Minalin MPC for Large Scale Category.
The 1st Pampanga Cooperative Summit aims to unite all the local cooperatives in order to improve their services by benchmarking and sharing their best practices for the good of their members.###
PHILIP OCAMPO
