REPUBLIC ACT NO.
6938 with a common bond of interest, who have
AN ACT TO ORDAIN A COOPERATIVE CODE OF
THE PHILIPPINES
CHAPTER I
GENERAL CONCEPTS AND PRINCIPLES
Art. 1. Title. - This Act shall be known as the
"Cooperative Code of the Philippines."
cd i
Art. 2. Declaration of Policy. - It is the declared
policy of the State to foster the
creation and growth of cooperatives as a practical
vehicle for prompting self-reliance
and harnessing people power towards the
attainment of economic development and
social justice. The State shall encourage the private
sector to undertake the actual
formation and organization to cooperatives and
shall create an atmosphere that is
conducive to the growth and development of these
cooperatives.
Towards this end, the Government and all its
branches, subdivisions, instrumentalities
and agencies shall ensure the provision of technical
guidance, financial assistance and
other services to enable said cooperatives to
develop into viable and responsive
economic enterprises and thereby bring about a
strong cooperative movement that is
free from any conditions that might infringe upon
the autonomy or organizational
integrity of cooperatives.
Further, the State recognizes the principle of
subsidiary under which the cooperative
sector will initiate and regulate within its own ranks
the promotion and organization,
training and research, audit and support services
relating to cooperatives with
government assistance where necessary;
Art. 3. General Concepts. - A cooperative is a duly
registered association of persons,
voluntarily joined together to achieve a
lawful common social or economic end, making
equitable contributions to the capital
required and accepting a fair share of the risks and
benefits of the undertaking in
accordance with universally accepted cooperative
principles.
Art. 4. Cooperative Principles. - Every cooperative
shall conduct its affairs in
accordance with Filipino culture and experience
and the universally accepted
principles of cooperation which include the
following:
(1) Open and Voluntary Membership - Membership
in a cooperative shall be
voluntary and available to all individuals regardless
of their social, political, racial or
religious background or beliefs.
(2) Democratic Control - Cooperatives are
democratic organizations. Their affairs
shall be administered by persons elected or
appointed in a manner agreed upon by the
members. Members of primary cooperatives shall
have equal voting rights on a onemember-one-vote
principle: Provided, however, That in the case of
secondary and
tertiary cooperatives, the provisions of Article 37 of
this Code shall apply.
(3) Limited Interest in Capital - Share capital shall
receive a strictly limited rate of
interest.
(4) Division of Net Surplus - Net surplus arising out
of the operations of a
cooperative belongs to its members and shall be
equitably distributed for cooperative
development, common services, indivisible reserve
fund, and for limited interest on
capital and/or patronage refund in the manner
provided in this Code and in the articles
of cooperation and bylaws.
(5) Cooperative Education - All cooperatives shall
make provision for the
education of their members, officers and
employees and of the general public based
on the principles of cooperation.
(6) Cooperation Among Cooperatives - All
cooperatives, in order to best the
interest of their members and communities, shall
actively cooperate with other
cooperatives at local, national, and international
levels.
Art. 5. Definitions of Terms. - The following terms
shall mean:
(1) Member includes a person either natural or
juridical who, adhering to the
principles set forth in this Code and in the articles of
cooperation, has been admitted
by the cooperative as member;
(2) General Assembly shall mean the full
membership of the cooperative duly
assembled for the purpose of exercising all the
rights and performing all the
obligations pertaining to cooperatives, as provided
by this Code, its articles of
cooperation and bylaws;
(3) Board of Directors shall mean that body
entrusted with the management of the
affairs of the cooperative under its articles of
cooperation and bylaws;
(4) Committee shall refer to any body entrusted
with specific functions and
responsibilities under the bylaws or resolution of
the general assembly or the board of
directors:
(5) Articles of Cooperation means the articles of
cooperation registered under this
Code and includes a registered amendment
thereof:
(6) Bylaws means the bylaws registered under this
Code and includes any
registered amendment thereof;
(7) Registration means the operative act granting
judicial personality to a
proposed cooperative and is evidenced by a
certificate of registration:
(8) Cooperative Development Authority means the
government agency in charge
of the registration and regulation of cooperatives as
such, hereinafter referred to as the
Authority; and
(9) Universally Accepted Principles means that
body of cooperative principles
adhered to worldwide by cooperatives in other
jurisdictions.
CHAPTER II
ORGANIZATION AND REGISTRATION
Art. 6. Organization of Cooperatives. - A
cooperative may be organized and
registered by at least fifteen (15) persons for any or
all of the following purposes:
aisa dc
(1) To encourage thrift and savings mobilization
among the members:
(2) To generate funds and extend credit to the
members for productive and
provident purposes;
(3) To encourage among members systematic
production and marketing;
(4) To provide goods and services and other
requirements to the members;
(5) To develop expertise and skills among its
members;
(6) To acquire lands and provide housing benefits
for the members;
(7) To insure against losses of the members:
(8) To promote and advance the economic, social
and educational status of the
members;
(9) To establish, own, lease or operate cooperative
banks, cooperative wholesale
and retail complexes, insurance and
agricultural/industrial processing enterprises, and
public markets;
(10) To coordinate and facilitate the activities of
cooperatives; and
(11) To undertake any all other activities for the
effective and efficient
implementation of the provisions of this Code.
Art. 7. Objectives of Cooperative. - The primary
objective of every cooperative is to
provide goods and services to its members and
thus enable them to attain increased
income and savings, investments, productivity, and
purchasing power and promote
among them equitable distribution of net surplus
through maximum utilization of
economies of scale, cost-sharing and risk-sharing
without, however, conducting the
affairs of the cooperative for elementary or
charitable purposes.
A cooperative shall provide maximum economic
benefits to its members, teach them
efficient ways of doing things in a cooperative
manner, and propagate cooperative
practices and new ideas in business and
management and allow the lower income
groups to increase their ownership in the wealth of
this nation.
Art. 8. Cooperatives Not in Restraint of Trade. - No
cooperative or method or act
thereof which complies with this Code shall be
deemed a conspiracy or combination
in restraint of trade or an illegal monopoly, or an
attempt to lessen competition or fix
prices arbitrarily in violation of any of the laws of the
Philippines.
Art. 9. Cooperative Powers and Capacities. - A
cooperative registered under this shall
have the following powers and capacities:
(1) To use and be sued in its cooperative name;
(2) Of succession;
(3) To amend its articles of cooperation in
accordance with the provisions of this
Code;
(4) To adopt bylaws not contrary to law, morals or
public policy, and to amend
and repeal the same in accordance with this Code;
(5) To purchase, receive take or grant, hold,
convey, sell, lease, pledge, mortgage,
and otherwise deal with such real and personal
property as the transaction of the
lawful affairs of the cooperative may reasonably
and necessarily require, subject to
the limitations prescribed by law and the
Constitution:
(6) To enter into division, merger or consolidation,
as provided in this Code; acd
(7) To join federations or unions, as provided in this
Code;
(8) To accept and receive grants, donations and
assistance from foreign and
domestic sources; and
(9) To exercise such other powers granted by this
Code or necessary to carry out
its purpose or purposes as stated in its articles of
cooperation.
Art. 10. Organizing a Primary Cooperative. - Fifteen
(15) or more natural
persons, who are citizens of the Philippines, having
a common bond of interest and
are residing or working in the intended area of
operation may organize a cooperative
under this Code.
Art. 11. Economic Survey. - Every group of
individuals or cooperatives
intending to form a cooperative under this Code
shall submit to the Cooperative
Development Authority a general statement
describing the structure, purposes and
economic feasibility of the proposed cooperative
indicating therein the area of
operation, the size of membership and other
pertinent data.
Art. 12. Liability. - A cooperative shall be registered
under this Code, limited
liability.
Art. 13. Term. - A cooperative shall exist for a
period not exceeding fifty (50)
years from the date of registration unless sooner
dissolved or unless said period is
extended. The cooperative term, as originally
stated in the articles of cooperation,
may be extended for periods not exceeding fifty
(50) years in any single instance by
an amendment of the articles of cooperation, in
accordance with this Code: Provided,
That no extension can be made earlier than five (5)
years prior to the original or
subsequent expiry date/dates unless there are
justifiable reasons for an earlier
extension as may be determined by the
Cooperative Development Authority.
Art. 14. Articles of Cooperation. - (1) All cooperative
applying for registration
shall file with the Cooperative Development
Authority the articles of cooperation
which shall be signed by each of the organizers
and acknowledged by them if natural
persons, and by the presidents or secretaries, if
juridical persons, before a notary
public.
(2) The articles of cooperation shall set forth:
(a) The name of the cooperative which shall include
the word "cooperative";
(b) The purpose or purposes and scope of business
for which the cooperative is to
be registered;
(c) The term of existence of the cooperative;
(d) The area of operation and the postal address of
its principal office;
(e) The names, nationality, and the postal
addresses of the registrants;
(f) The common bond of membership;
(g) The list of names of the directors who shall
manage the cooperative; and
(h) The amount of its share capital, the names and
residences of its contributors
and a statement of whether the cooperative is
primary, secondary or tertiary in
accordance with Article 23 hereof.
(3) The articles of cooperation may also contain
any other provisions not
inconsistent with this Code or any related law.
(4) Four (4) copies each of the proposed articles of
cooperation, bylaws, and the
general statement required under Article 11 of this
Code shall be submitted to the
Cooperative Development Authority.
(5) No cooperative shall be registered unless the
articles of cooperation is
accompanied with the bonds of the accountable
officers and a sworn statement of the
treasurer elected by the subscribers showing that at
least twenty-five per centum
(25%) of the authorized share capital has been
subscribed and at least twenty-five per
centum (25%) of the total subscription has been
paid: Provided, That in no case shall
the paid-up share capital shall be less than Two
thousand pesos (P2,000.00).
Art. 15. Bylaws. - (1) Each cooperative to be
registered under this Code shall
adopt bylaws not inconsistent with the provisions of
this Code. The bylaws shall be
filed at the same time as the articles of cooperation.
(2) The bylaws of each cooperative shall provide:
(a) The qualifications for admission to membership
and the payment to be made
or interest to be acquired as a condition for the
exercise of the right of membership;
(b) The rights and liabilities of membership;
(c) The circumstances under which membership is
acquired, maintained and lost;
(d) The procedure to be followed in cases of
termination of membership;
(e) The conditions under which the transfer of a
share or interest of the members
shall be permitted;
(f) The rules and procedures on the agenda, time,
place and manner of calling,
convening, conducting meetings, quorum
requirements, voting systems, and other
matters relative to the business affairs of the
general assembly, board of directors, and
committees:
(g) The general conduct of the affairs of the
cooperative, including the powers and
duties of the general assembly, the board of
directors, committees and the officers,
and their qualifications and disqualifications;
(h) The manner in which the capital may be raised
and the purposes for which it
can be utilized;
(i) The mode of custody and of investment of net
surplus;
(j) The accounting and auditing systems;
Benguet records highest cooperative
membership in CAR
LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – Last year’s consolidated
data of about 500 compliant primary cooperatives
indicated that the Cordillera Administrative Region
has about 343,380 cooperative members. The
Cordillera office of the Cooperative Development
Authority (CDA-CAR) data revealed that Benguet
has the highest total number of 86,201 members
based on the reports of 195 cooperatives. This
was followed by Baguio City 65,164 (111-coops);
Ifugao, 61,630 (43-coops); Mountain Province,
49,589 (42-coops); Kalinga, 47,556 (49-coops);
Abra, 28,012 (39 coops) and Apayao 5,228 (26-
coops).
The top performing primary cooperative in each
province/city in terms of membership showed
Tabuk Multipurpose Cooperative (TAMPCO) of
Kalinga leading the group with 23,684 members
followed by Abra Diocesan Teachers and
Employees MPC (ADTEMCO)-Abra with 19,510;
Baguio-Benguet Community Credit Cooperative
(BBCCC)-Baguio City, 21,679; Banaue Savings
Development Cooperative (BSDC)-Ifugao, 19,225;
Benguet State University MPC (BSU MPC)-
Benguet, 18,600; Treasure Link Cooperative
Society-Mountain Province, 15,073; and Rimalipad
Naba MPC-Apayao 596 members.
Percent distribution of membership indicated that
about 25.10% of the total cooperative membership
comes from Benguet followed by Baguio City
comprising 18.98%; Ifugao, 7.95%; Mountain
Province,14.44%; Kalinga,13.85%; Abra,8.16% and
Apayao, 1.52%.
Except for Rimalipad Naba MPC that belongs to
small category, all the top performing are large
cooperatives with assets of more than P 100
million.
Benguet coops register highest accrued assets
in CAR
By Susan C. Aro
Published on October 28, 2019
(PHILIPPINE INFORMATION AGENCY)
Accrued coop assets highest in Benguet
LA TRINIDAD, Benguet, Oct. 25 (PIA) - -
Cooperatives in the province are thriving amassing
the highest total asset among coops in the
Cordillera region.
Cooperative Development Authority Cordillera
(CDA-CAR) records showed that the coops in the
province have the highest accumulated assets
amounting to P6.517 billion or higher by P393
million than those in Baguio City with a total of
P6.124 billion assets.
CDA-CAR Director Franco Bawang Jr said the
province recorded an impressive increase of asset
accumulation of 189 percent growth from P2.252 B
to P6.517 B within the span of only five years
Topping the list of coops in the province is the
Benguet State University and Community
Multipurpose Cooperative with an asset of
P1.622B. It is the only billionaire coop in the area.
Other top performing coops are the Cooperative
Bank of Benguet with P795.485M, Bad-ayan
Buguias Development Multipurpose Cooperative
with P446.955M, La Trinidad Vegetable Trading
Post Multipurpose Cooperative with P445.829M,
Philex Community Credit Cooperative with
P358.765M, Taloy Norte Farmers Multipurpose
Cooperative (TNFMPC) at P255.398M, Kabayan
Multipurpose Cooperative with P240.027M, Bokod
Sulphur Spring Multipurpose Cooperative (BSSMC)
with P204.306M, Benguet Government Employees
Multipurpose Cooperative with P148.579M, and the
Mega Realm Housing Cooperative with
P138.694M.
However, of the 337 registered coops, only 227 are
operational. Of the operational, only 209 are
compliant to CDA requirement as of September this
year, Bawang said.
As to allocation per town, the highest total assets
with their corresponding number of coops are those
based in this capital town with a total of P4.109B
assets with 70 coops operating followed by Tuba
with a total asset of P783.485M and 13 coops;
Buguias with a total asset of P566.608 M and six
coops; Kabayan and Bokod with total assets of
P323.438M and 12 coops and P218.896 M and
four coops, respectively.
Kapangan recorded a total asset of P125.491M
with 20 coops, Tublay with P102.835 and 11 coops,
Atok with P102.757M and 16 coops, Itogon with
P56.447M and 15 Coops, Kibungan with P54.468M
and six coops, Bakun with P43.576M and 10
coops, Mankayan with P23.429M and seven coops,
and Sablan with P6.951M total assets and five
coops.
Bawang who presented the status of cooperatives
said coops are now making waves in the
community and could now compete with regular
businesses.
Cooperatives in Ifugao have a total asset of
P3.83B, Mountain Province with P3.221B, Kalinga
hasP3.122B, Abra with P1.59B, and Apayao having
the least with P212.336M.
Aside from branching out, establishing satellites
and offices, Bawang challenged the coops to
establish laboratory cooperatives used as training
ground for young members in preparation for them
to become regular members and are taught the
values of thrift and saving.
Small coops could also merge and consolidate
together to make a stronger one and stand as one
such that it cannot easily be disband and providing
more services for the members, he said.
Instilling the concept of big brother and small
brother helping each other through a memorandum
of agreement is also another challenge Bawang
suggested.
The coop’s educational and training fund could also
be used for educational tours to other coops in
order to learn from them how they were able to
make their coops big, he recommended.
(JDP/SCA-PIA-CAR, Benguet)
ROCKETING COOPERATIVE OF CAR
Twitter
The Benguet State University Multipurpose
Cooperative (BSU MPC) was registered on
September 16, 1999 as a result of the consolidation
of Benguet State University Credit Cooperative and
MSAC Teachers and Employees Consumers
Cooperatives that were operating in the University
campus. Records show that there were 17
cooperators (7 male and 10 female) and its bond of
membership was institutional. About 227 original
members from the academe pooled their resources
and the initial capital was about P5,755,786.42.
The founding cooperators include Carlos Buasen
Sr.; Silvestre Kudan; Mary Porte; Erlinda Bestre;
Evangeline Cungihan; Carlota Lubrica; Ben Luis;
Rosita Bawang; Darlyn Tagarino; Bienvinedo
Balweg; Marlene Atinyao; Wilfredo Estolas;
Macario Cadatal; Hilda Lubos ; Teresita Palaez;
Timotea Vitales; and Josefina Botacion. Nine Board
of Directors composed of Carlos Buasen Sr.;
Silvestre Kudan; Mary Porte; Erlinda Bestre;
Marlene Atinyao; Macario Cadatal; Timotea Vitales;
Hilda Lubos and Feliciano delos Santos who were
previous members of the consumers and credit
cooperatives.
In its first 4 years of operation as a consolidated
cooperative, it had a part time manager with about
7 full-time staff. Net surpluses for the period 1999-
2001 were favorable but gradually declined in 2003
when it incurred (24,380.23) net surplus.
An analysis on the four year operation done by its
founding chairperson, Dr. Carlos Buasen, Sr.
indicated several factors that affected the
cooperative operations like share capital withdrawal
by retirees and transferees; share capital
withdrawal by members going on panic due to
rumor or false alarm; write-off of non-existing
assets, damages; delinquency of loans which
hampered releases of loans applied by other
members; poor patronage by members of the
consumers operation and delinquency of purchase
accounts of some members; lose of moral values
among employees; inadequate/loose operational
management(part-time manager was not able to
cope with management control, lose of moral
values among employees affecting some officers
and members). Some of the identified immediate
remedial measures include the employment of full-
time manager, restructuring of operations and re-
orientation of members , officers and employees
staff.
Comparative financial data of 2014 and 2015
operations revealed an increase by 45% on the
total assets from P 404 million to P 587 million; net
surplus surged by 33% from P 23.7M to P 31.5M
and membership grew by 33% from 13,918 to
18,558 respectively. At present there are 13 regular
employees of the cooperative with 2 satellite offices
located in Abatan and Loo, Buguias, Benguet.
Some of the best practices learned from the BSU
MPC experiences are: Conduct of monthly Pre-
membership Education Seminar; Regular Conduct
of Annual General Assembly Meeting; Business
Expansion and Diversification; Cooperative
Updates through radio broadcast and print;
Minimize Expense; Computerization of business
operation; Attendance to training, cooperative
activities by officers, management staff and
members; periodic planning and assessment;
vertical and horizontal integration (putting up of
satellites); local and international exposures/tours
and support to federations and unions.
You might be asking yourselves why rocketing
cooperative in CAR? Barely in its 16 years of
operation, BSU MPC had surpassed the
performance of other cooperatives previously
registered before and just after the enactment of
RA 6938 and 6939. While it took some
cooperatives 20-30 years to reach half a billion
asset, this primary cooperative located in CAR did it
in a shorter span of time. Having an exceptional
performance, we are looking forward to another
billionaire cooperative in the North within the next
five years.
A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-
op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of
persons united voluntarily to meet their common
economic, social, and cultural needs and
aspirations through a jointly-owned enterprise".