State of Philippine Cooperatives
State of Philippine Co-operatives: Current Analysis
C
o-operatives in the Philippines may be entering a new era at the start of the next decade in 2010. There are forces already at work that can bring co-operatives to a new level of development. But like any human and social endeavour, the character and shape of that development would depend on how the key stakeholders – co-operatives and government – would read, interpret and respond to the events that will impact on cooperatives. If positive consciousness is generated and channelled to common action, we may yet see opportunities for real change happen in the country in the years ahead. But, first, an analysis of what has happened since the 1950s, the time when real1 cooperatives started to take root in the country. 1950 – 1970s: Three Decades of Self-Awareness Before the 1950s, co-operatives in the country were organized mostly by government as part of a series of programs to develop agriculture and energize the rural economy. Cooperatives that were organized on self-help and voluntary basis were far between and did not prosper because of the war (WWII) or the lack of support systems. Because of the fundamental difference in the character of these development efforts, we can refer to the former as mandated tradition and the latter the voluntary tradition. The 1950s saw the voluntary tradition take root when the Catholic Church in particular put credit union promotion at the fore front of its social action. Credit unions were organized on the basis of self-help and mutual help, following the universally accepted co-op values and principles. Many successful co-operatives in the country today trace their roots to this decade and many of them still carry the names of their patron saints or the parish where they originated. By the time the martial law regime brought back the mandated tradition with its samahang nayon program – this time extensively and with full force – the voluntary tradition was firmly rooted
C
o-operatives in the Philippines may be entering a new era at the start of the next decade in 2010. There are forces already at work that can bring co-operatives to a new level of development. But like any human and social endeavour, the character and shape of that development would depend on how the key stakeholders – co-operatives and government – would read, interpret and respond to the events that will impact on cooperatives. If positive consciousness is generated and channelled to common action, we may yet see opportunities for real change happen in the country in the years ahead. But, first, an analysis of what has happened since the 1950s, the time when real1 cooperatives started to take root in the country. 1950 – 1970s: Three Decades of Self-Awareness Before the 1950s, co-operatives in the country were organized mostly by government as part of a series of programs to develop agriculture and energize the rural economy. Cooperatives that were organized on self-help and voluntary basis were far between and did not prosper because of the war (WWII) or the lack of support systems. Because of the fundamental difference in the character of these development efforts, we can refer to the former as mandated tradition and the latter the voluntary tradition. The 1950s saw the voluntary tradition take root when the Catholic Church in particular put credit union promotion at the fore front of its social action. Credit unions were organized on the basis of self-help and mutual help, following the universally accepted co-op values and principles. Many successful co-operatives in the country today trace their roots to this decade and many of them still carry the names of their patron saints or the parish where they originated. By the time the martial law regime brought back the mandated tradition with its samahang nayon program – this time extensively and with full force – the voluntary tradition was firmly rooted