BALER, Aurora (PIA) -- The Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) has signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with Aurora State College of Technology (ASCOT) for an awareness program on cooperative laws.

Under the MOA, CDA and ASCOT will support and educate law students and legal practitioners in expanding their legal knowledge on cooperative laws as well as increase the level of awareness and improve the quality of life of cooperatives and their members.

In a statement, CDA Chairperson Joseph Encabo emphasized the importance of partnerships with educational institutions.

“A cooperative is a sector that is composed of individuals coming from different walks of life: coming from different interests, coming from different age brackets, and coming from different cultures. Everything is different, but there is one common interest that binds them together to achieve economic sustainability, growth, and viability. That is the spirit of cooperativeness,” he emphasized.

Through the CDA Law Awareness Program (CLAP), law students will undergo education, training, and research orientation on the substantive and procedural aspects of Republic Act 11364, otherwise known as the CDA Charter of 2019 as well as its Implementing Rules and Regulations, and related laws and rules. 

ASCOT College of Law Dean Raquel Dujunco, on the other hand, welcomed the collaboration under CLAP.

"A cooperative best describes the concept of synergy. In synergy, it does not follow the rules of mathematics. In a synergy, the meaning of one plus one is maybe three or four. When two people start working together, they can do more, they can produce more. That's why, in synergy, the sum total is greater than the parts put together," she pressed.

Aside from the MOA signing with ASCOT, the agency likewise conducted a “CDA on Wheels” in Baler. 

This region-wide flagship program creates a one-stop shop to address the needs of cooperatives in obtaining the Certificate of Compliance. (CLJD/MAT-PIA 3)