NATCCO General Assembly highlights growth, consolidation

LAOAG CITY — The National Confederation of Cooperatives (NATCCO) concluded its 2014 General Assembly on a high note, being the most attended ever, according the NATCCO chairperson Jose B. Ebron. He reported to the more than 600 delegates that the meeting had a quorum of 80%.

The NATCCO Network is a federation of almost 700 cooperatives nationwide.  NATCCO and its members have offices in 1,236 locations all over the archipelago, and manage P65.1 Billion assets of 2.3 million individuals.

The theme for the event was “Advancing Solidarity & Collective Development Through an Integrated Network,” focusing on integrating the member cooperatives with standardized services, pooling resources and one branding to prepare cooperatives for the ASEAN Economic Integration scheduled at the start of 2015. 

Ebron reported that some of the “major strides” of the Network were increasing membership and increased patronage of NATCCO’s services by member co-ops.

“We have appointed a Mediation & Conciliation Committee, Ethics Committee, and an IT Committee and organized regional Youth Committees,” he said.

Internally, the NATCCO has improved operational policies on Human Resources and Auditing, including an Enterprise-Wide Risk Management Workshop producing a “risk map” that identifies and categorizes risks according to probability and severity.

Also announced was NATCCO’s being a Third Party Strategic Investor in the Network Consolidated Cooperative Bank, which has authorization of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, and will be fully operational by next month. 

51 ATMs have been set up the NATCCO IT Group in co-ops since 2010.  With the increase, transactions exceeded 275,000 in 2013.  Replenishment of amounts transacted breached P2.55 Billion last year.

The General Assembly formally launched a new service for co-ops — Pinoy Coop Unli.  This allows members to deposit, transfer funds, check balance in their co-op deposit account, purchase and make payments using their cellphones.  This service was piloted by Socorro Empowered Peoples Cooperative in Surigao del Norte last April.

Another IT-based service was piloted recently in Benguet Province – Point-of-Sale or POS – in Benguet Province where NATCCO ATM cards can now be used for shopping and loan payments at the co-op.

12,000 co-op leaders and staff were also provided training in co-op operations by the NATCCO Network’s Training Group in 2013.  This is expected to increase exponentially as E-Learning, or online training, was launched recently.

Also announced were the partnerships engaged by NATCCO with organizations overseas, like Swedish co-op federation, WE Effect, and Habitat for Humanity for the construction of 180 permanent housing units in Leyte which was hit by Typhoon Yolanda. 

German co-op federation, Deutsche Genosenschafts Raifeissen Verband (DGRV), provided supervision software for co-op operations.  Canadian federation Developpement International Desjardin likewise helped set up NATCCO’s Consultancy services for co-ops according to international standards.

Ebron also announced the inclusion of NATCCO leaders in the Boards of the International Cooperative Association-Asia-Pacific, Association of Asian Confederation of Credit Unions, and the Chairmanship of NATCCO Chief Executive Officer in Proxfin.

In 2013, NATCCO’s Treasury Unit recorded increased deposits by 40% to P265 Million, the highest in the past seven years. 

The Credit Unit likewise boasted good numbers, releasing a total of P768 Million in 2013.  These loans are made by co-ops in urban and rural areas, benefitting farmers, fisherfolk, households, and small enterprises.

The General Assembly also approved resolutions to urge the Cooperative Development Authority to draft a policy for Temporary Regulatory Relief for co-ops hit by disaster, as well as for NATCCO member co-ops to allot a minimum 1% of their Community Development Fund to be contributed to a Philippine Co-op Disaster Recovery Fund (PCDRF) which will be lent interest-free to co-ops affected by natural or man-made disasters.

A major part of the agenda was the unanimous approval of the resolution for the NATCCO Network to consolidate with the second largest co-op federation in the country, MASS-SPECC or Mindanao Alliance of Self-Help Societies – Southern Philippines Education Center for Cooperatives by 2015.  Said resolution had already been approved by the MASS-SPECC General Assembly on May 3, 2014. 

“Functional Collaboration” between the two federations is scheduled for 2014 to 2015.  A “back-to-back” Congress and General Assembly and joint financial statement is scheduled for next year and consolidation will be finalized by 2016. 

A new and consolidated organization will have combined members, services, streamlined operations to increase efficiency, and combined assets of more than P3.0 Billion.

This article was also published at the NATCCO website:

http://www.natcco.coop/index.php/home-2/206-natcco-general-assembly-highlights-growth-consolidation