KORONADAL CITY, South Cotabato (PIA) – The Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) in Region 12 has urged the public to join existing cooperatives and learn more about how they improve people’s quality of life.
CDA acting Regional Director Juriski B. Mangelen emphasized the economic benefits of joining cooperatives, saying it helps boost income and ultimately improves the quality of life for members.
Despite this, she said only 11 percent of the voting populace in the Philippines are cooperative members, urging both potential members and cooperatives to be more open and proactive.
“Dito sa Pilipinas nasa 11 percent lamang ng voting populace ang miyembro ng mga kooperatiba kaya hinihikayat na maging miyembro ng kooperatiba at ang mga coop na maging open at magbigay ng invitation sa voting public,” she stated during the recent Kapihan sa Bagong Pilipinas hosted by the Philippine Information Agency in Soccsksargen.
(Only 11 percent of the voting population in the Philippines is a member of a cooperative, so we encourage them to join and urge the cooperatives to be open to inviting the voting public.)
Mangelen also noted that CDA Soccsksargen was able to clinch an additional registration of 64 cooperatives in 2024, bringing the total to 1,697. This includes the 1,633 cooperatives registered in 2023.
Cotabato has the highest number of cooperatives in the region with 518, followed by South Cotabato (390), General Santos (324), Sultan Kudarat (231), and Sarangani (176).
The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, or BARMM, has 58.
Mangelen then highlighted that multipurpose cooperatives are the predominant type in Region 12, with credit, producer, agriculture, and marketing cooperatives ranking highest among single-type cooperatives.
The official assured that CDA, through its developmental, regulatory, and quasi-judicial programs and services, will continue to support the growing and newly established cooperatives in the Soccsksargen region. (SZT – PIA Region 12)
