PH Roman Catholic Church Into Cooperatives – Quietly, Noisily! The DA Needs You!

Quietly: 

No news, I saw it only on Facebook, that the Union of Metro Manila Cooperatives, UMMC, the Regional Cooperative Development Council-National Capital Region, in coordination with the Cooperative Development Authority-Manila Extension Office, held the 2-day 1st Metro Manila Cooperative Union Congress, MMCUC, on 16-17 October 2019 at the Winford Hotel in Manila.

Noisily:
The MMCUC would bring together 1,000 cooperative leaders, advocates and influencers, as according to the Facebook sharing of Buhay Kooperatiba.

Let us note that Metro Manila is huge, composed of Caloocan, Las Piñas, Makati, Malabon, Mandaluyong, Manila, Marikina, Muntinlupa, Navotas, Paranaque, Pasay, Pasig, Pateros, Quezon City, San Juan, Taguig, Valenzuela – 16 cities and 1 municipality (Pateros). The Facebook announcement said:

The collaborative effort, with the theme: "A Cooperative Union Towards A Strong Movement," this First Metro Manila Cooperative Union Congress (MMCUC), setting the direction towards a strong cooperative union movement.

According to another source (Norman Dequia, 16 October 2019, "UMMC, Palalakasin Ang Sektor Ng Agrikultura Sa Bansa." Veritas846, veritas846.ph): (UMMC, To Strengthen The Agricultural Sector Of The Country – my translation)

Inihayag ng Pangulo ng Union of Metro Manila Cooperatives (UMMC) na higit pinagtutuunan ng mga kooperatiba ang pagtulong sa mga dukha sa lipunan.

(The President of the UMMC announced that the cooperatives will emphasize assistance to the marginalized in society.)

Rev Fr Anton CT Pascual, interim Chair of the UMMC, said:

Pinaiigting ng mga kooperatiba ang pagbubuklod- buklod upang mapagtuunan ng pansin ang mga adbokasiyang makatutulong sa mamamayan.

(The cooperatives are intensifying their cohesiveness in paying attention to the advocacies that can help the citizens.)

Fr Anton CT Pascual is the President of Radio Veritas, the Catholic broadcast station in the Philippines. He said:

Basically ang kooperatiba ay isang social enterprise. Ito'y isang negosyo ng bayan (o) kaya associate enterprise; ang iniisip ay ang common good, kahalagahan ng pagtutulungan para sa kapakinabangan ng lahat.

(Basically, the cooperative is a social enterprise. This is a public business or associate enterprise; what it is thinking of is the common good, the value of helping each other for the benefit of all.)

The above image, that of The Outstanding Filipino, TOFil Awards, has 3 faces. First is that of Jose Cuisia (for Public Service & Diplomacy), then William D Dar(Agriculture), and Antonio CT Pascual(Humanitarian Service, Community, NGO and Cooperatives). The year was 2016; today, the Secretary of Agriculture is William Dar/Manong Willie, and he is an advocate of cooperatives. Friends meet in common objectives.

The Cooperatives Congress aimed to:

1. "Rekindle and deepen the spirit of cooperativism."

2. "Reinvent the union system in Metro Manila which will officially represent the cooperative sector in every municipality, city and the National Capital Region."

3. "Serve as a forum for a common understanding on the roles and functions of" government institutions, including the LandBank.

4. "Redefine the role of business federations in enhancing the business services to cooperatives in each industry."

They have a long way to go, but at least they have started the journey of a thousand miles with the first steps!@517