FSCC Joins the BCCDC's Annual General Council Meeting

FlorAl Savings & Credit Cooperative (FSCC) joins the Baguio City Cooperative Development Council's (BCCDC) annual general council meeting on December 11, 2018 at the Baguio-Benguet Community Credit Cooperative (BBCCC) Seminar Hall, Assumption Road, Baguio City. This annual general council meeting was participated by twenty-four (24) other registered cooperatives at the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA).

One of the highlights of the said meeting was the election of BCCDC's officers for 2019. The Audit Committee Chairperson of FSCC, Martin B. Papay Jr. was elected as a member of the Election Committee along with Ms. Venus Britanico, Chairperson of San Luis Proper Credit Cooperative and Ms. Jane A. Galutan, General Manager of the Guisad Multi-Purpose Cooperative as the Election Committee's Chairperson and Secretary.

Mr. Oscar Adversalo, Chairperson of the BBCCC was re-elected as the Chairperson of BCCDC. Other re-elected officers include Mr. Ruperto Ferrer Jr. with twelve (12) votes for the position of Vice-chairperson, Ms. Ofelia Valencia as the Secretary, Ms. Brenda Navalta as the Treasurer and Mr. Joseph Del Rosario with fifteen (15) votes for the position of Auditor.

Other nominated representatives from the participating cooperatives include Jhumar Guimpayan and Bernard Briones for the position of Vice Chairperson with nine (9) and four (4) votes respectively. On the other hand, Ms. Mina Castro was also nominated for the position of Auditor with ten (10) votes.

Based from the BCCDC's election guidelines, all cooperatives' chairperson are automatically qualified to be nominated and elected as Chairperson while cooperative's representative other than the Chairperson may be nominated and elected for the positions from Vice-chairperson down to the Auditor by virtue of coop's board resolution. Other coop representative without board resolution during the election may also signify their intent to be nominated and elected for the positions of Auditor to the Vice-chairperson provided that such resolution will be submitted after the election.

Also, during the said meeting, the BDCCDC's accomplishment report was presented by its Chairperson, Mr. Adversalo and the Financial Report was presented by its Auditor, Mr.  Del Rosario.

FSCC Attends Forum on the Proposed Creation of Cooperative Bank of Baguio

         On December 4, 2018, BOD member Rebecca Cynthia B. Batong and Audit Committee Chairperson Martin B. Papay Jr. attended the Forum on the Proposed Creation of Cooperative Bank of Baguio at the Multipurpose Hall of the City Government of Baguio as FSCC’s representatives. The said forum was an initiative of the City Government of Baguio in partnership with the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA).

          Ms. Amelita B. Damian, Bank Officer V of the Banko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), Mr. Miguel P. Luma-ang, Chairperson of the Cooperative Bank of Benguet, and Rev. Fr. Charleston L. Buking, Chairperson of the Cooperative Bank of Mountain Province served as resource persons.

          Ms. Damian presented the current performance of cooperative banks in the country, the relevance and definition of a cooperative bank, its difference from rural banks, requirements on its establishment, relevant regulations, and issues and challenges faced by cooperative banks.

          Accordingly, there are a total of twenty-five (25) Cooperative Bank Head Offices in the country of which fifteen (15) are in Luzon and five (5) each in Visayas and Mindanao. There are one hundred thirty-one (131) cooperative bank branches for a total of one hundred fifty-six (156) cooperative banks nation wide owning 0.1% assets of the Total Assets registered in the Philippine Banking System as of June 30, 2018.

          A Cooperative Bank is defined as one organized for the purpose of providing a wide range of financial services to cooperatives and their members. Article 100 of the Republic Act No. 9520 on the Philippine Cooperative Code of 2008 provides that "A cooperative bank shall primarily provide financial, banking, and credit services to cooperative organizations and their members".

             The said act further states that a cooperative bank shall be organized only by cooperative organizations that are duly established and registered under the Philippine Cooperative Code of 2008. A Cooperative Bank shall be considered as a cooperative that should be registered with the CDA, subject to authorization and supervision of the BSP.

          To create the proposed Cooperative Bank of Baguio, at least five (5) primary cooperatives located in the same location of the proposed head office are needed with at least twenty million (20 M) initial capitalization. BSP allows only one (1) coop bank per province.

          On the other hand, Mr. Luma-ang Rev. Fr. Buking shared their experiences as chairperson of the Cooperative Bank of Benguet and Cooperative Bank of Mountain Province respectively in terms of Organization, Capitalization, Operation, and Management.

          In closing, a survey/ questionnaire on the possible establishment of the Cooperative Bank of Baguio was distributed for each participating cooperative to fill-out which should be submitted to the CDA on or before the mid of January 2019.