CDA and AWCF establish partnership for gender-fair, progressive Philippine co-ops

CDA and AWCF representatives on hand to witness the signing of the organizations' partnership agreement.

CDA Chairperson E. Santiaguel and AWCF Executive Director S. Ganibe lead their organizations in signing their partnership agreement for gender equality advocacy in Philippine co-ops. Looking on is CDA Board of Administrators member Ms M. Castillo.

The Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) of the Philippine government and the Asian Women in Co-operative Development Forum (AWCF) had forged a  Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) beginning mid-2013 for their partnership in gender and development (GAD) efforts in Philippine co-ops. AWCF is an Asian resource center and advocacy body on gender and co-op development, with its Secretariat based in the Philippines.

The MOA was recently signed by CDA Chairperson Mr. Emmanuel Santiaguel and AWCF Executive Director Ms Salome Ganibe at the CDA Central Office in Quezon City, Philippines. Ms Mercedes Castillo, one of CDA’s Board of Administrators (BOA), and other CDA and AWCF representatives witnessed the signing.

The MOA between CDA and AWCF is expected to boost the two agencies’ thrusts in promoting and institutionalizing GAD that will lead to having gender-fair co-operatives.

CDA and gender equality
Republic Act (RA) 6939 of the Philippines tasks CDA to formulate, adopt, and implement integrated and comprehensive plans and programs on co-op development, consistent with the national policy on co-ops and the overall socio-economic development plans of the country. CDA is also mandated to promote the viability and growth of co-ops as instruments of equity, social justice, and sustainable economic development.

As a government agency, CDA is duty-bound to implement Executive Order (EO) 273, which pertains to the “Philippine Plan for Gender-Responsive Development.” CDA has been actively implementing activities to help bring GAD and gender equality (GE) to the consciousness, operations, and systems of co-ops. CDA already has formed the Gender Focal System—which is required of government agencies—in its central and regional offices. CDA also set up in August 2013 a technical working group (TWG) (which began CDA’s working relationship with AWCF because the latter was made a member of the TWG) to help the agency in implementing its GAD thrusts and attaining its GAD objectives through the development of policies/programs/projects/activities. Sitting in the TWG are a member of the CDA’s BOA, representatives of the different divisions in the CDA central office, and partner-organizations.

Going a step further, CDA has issued a policy pronouncement as another one of its concrete actions toward actualizing its belief that GAD and GE are good for co-operatives’ socio-economic growth. In November 2013, CDA issued Memorandum Circular (MC) 2013-22 entitled “Guidelines on Mainstreaming Gender and Development (GAD) in Cooperatives.” The MC seeks to ensure the promotion of GE and institutionalization of GAD in the policies/programs/projects/activities of co-ops. With this MC, CDA thus becomes the first co-op development agency among ASEAN countries to issue such a policy for the promotion of GAD in co-ops in its own country.

Partnership thrusts
The partnership between CDA and AWCF, as stipulated in their MOA, will lead to close co-operation and assistance between the two agencies in the aspects of policies, plans, programs/projects/activities and other areas in relation to institutionalizing GAD in co-ops’ structure. The sharing of resources, expertise, and skills between the two agencies is expected to further strengthen development and sustainability of the Philippine co-op movement.
 
AWCF as partner
Since 1990, AWCF has been working on helping co-ops pursue the gender agenda. AWCF has been advocating co-ops to be aware of and to act on gender issues in their organizations, based on the conviction that awareness and action will lead to even greater socio-economic development for co-ops.

AWCF has been implementing gender-related projects in co-ops, in partnership with its members and partner-agencies in its member-countries, which are Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines. AWCF implemented a project in 2010-2012 that promoted GE in Philippine co-ops. In December 2012, during a public awareness conference held in Quezon City for this GE project’s culmination, the project’s participating primary and federation co-ops issued a “Call for Action” to CDA to promote and advocate GE in co-ops (through policies and systems). The call was made for CDA to promote GE so that more co-operatives can become gender-fair and gender-sensitive, and thus benefit from the resulting socio-economic benefits.

After the co-ops’ submission to CDA of that call for action (through then CDA Executive Director Mr. Niel Santillan who was a guest in the public awareness conference) and later submitted by AWCF to the CDA Chairperson, CDA and AWCF had several meetings. They discussed how to work through the recommended actions contained in the co-ops’ call for GE. AWCF also later became a member of the TWG mentioned earlier. CDA’s main and first response to the co-ops’ Call for Action was its issuance of MC 2013-22.

Gender Equality Resource Centers (GERCs) in Philippine co-ops: Strengthening co-ops and families

What is gender equality or GE? In GE, women and men have equal rights, benefits, opportunities for advancement, services, and access to and control over resources; and equal roles to play in development as participants and as leaders.

Click here to download the GERC Brochure (PDF file).

(Note: On November 18, 2013, the Philippine government's Cooperative Development Authority [CDA] issued Memorandum Circular [MC] 2013-22, pertaining to "Guidelines on Mainstreaming Gender and Development [GAD] in Cooperatives." The Circular, as stated in the MC itself, aims at disseminating to the co-op sector the GAD mandate of the government so as to ensure the promotion of GE and the institutionalization of GAD in policies, programs, and other activities in the co-ops.)

Gender Equality Resource Centers in Philippine co-ops fully activated

Gender Equality Resource Centers (GERCs) based in Philippine co-operatives in the Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao regions are now fully activated. The GERCs are ready to serve the country’s other co-ops and help them fulfill their objectives and needs related to gender and development (GAD) and genderequality (GE).

On November 21-24, 2013, co-operators from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao regions of the Philippines converged for a meeting and workshop in San Rafael, Bulacan province in Luzon for their continuing capacity-building toward effective and timely service delivery to other co-ops and different institutions. These co-operators belong to different co-ops that comprise GERCs in the aforementioned regions. These co-ops, which are among the most active and most progressive co-ops in the country, have become gender-fair and gender-sensitive organizations that recognize and advocate the socio-economic benefits that co-ops and their members enjoy when they embrace GE. Furthermore, these co-ops that had formed their own GERCs have banded together to operate GERCs at the regional level, mainly to help even more effectively other co-ops and institutions in enjoying the benefits of being gender-fair organizations.

The GERCs were set up under the auspices of the Project “Sustaining Gender Equality Among Co-operatives in the Philippines” that is implemented in 2013 by the Asian Women in Co-operative Development Forum (AWCF). The Project is supported by the We Effect—Swedish Cooperative Centre (We Effect—SCC), with fund support from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA). In the years immediately prior to this Project, AWCF, also with We Effect—SCC’s support, implemented the “first” project “Promoting Gender Equality Among Co-operatives in the Philippines.” This first project likewise involved other co-ops that are now part of the regional GERCs formedby the co-ops through the current AWCF-We Effect—SCC Project.

The first project (implemented 2010-2012) culminated in the “AWCF Public Awareness Conference” held December 6, 2012 in Quezon City, Philippines, wherein 15 co-ops participating in the project drafted the document "Call for Action to the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) tosupport Gender Equality in Philippine co-ops." The original copy of the Call for Action, which was signed by the 15 co-ops’ representatives, was submitted by the co-ops at the Conference to CDA Executive Director Mr. Niel Santillan. He was one of the Conference’s guests. On January 2, 2013, AWCF sent a copy of the same Call for Action to the office of CDA Chairperson Mr. Emmanual Santiaguel.


The Call for Action
In the said Call for Action, the 15 co-ops that took part in the AWCF GE Project from 2010-2012 stated, among other things, that they realize that as gender-fair co-ops, they may serve as role-models for other co-ops and co-operators on the benefits of being gender-aware and gender-sensitive, and of practicing GE. In consideration of this premise and other premises stated in the said Call for Action, the 15 co-ops said that they are therefore making the call and the challenge to the CDA—being the most relevant government agency supporting co-ops in the country—to support GE mainstreaming and integration in the co-ops to bring about even greater socio-economic benefits to the movement.
Specifically, the 15 co-ops called on the CDA to:
1. Require gender-sensitivity training or gender-awareness sessions as one of the courses for co-op officers and key management staff
2. Require co-ops to engage in gender-related activities so as to address gender issues in their co-ops and thus become gender-fair and gender-responsive organizations and workplaces
3. Require co-ops to integrate GE in their bylaws.

These aforementioned actions, as stated in the Call for Action, will lead co-ops in the country to make GE as one of their priority/primary actions. Thisway, the co-ops will be compliance with the Rules and Policies Implementing Certain Provisions of the “Philippine Cooperative Code of 2008,” Rule 11Section 5, “Social Audit of Cooperatives.” 

The 15 co-ops closed the Call for Action document by strongly urging the CDA’s “favorable response to the Call for Action beginning 2013.”

Next steps after Call for Action; Circular issued
After the Call for Action was submitted to the CDA Executive Director in December 2012 in the Public Awareness Conference and sent by AWCF to the CDA Chairperson in January 2013, AWCF worked with CDA for almost all of the latter part of the year to follow up, coordinate and advocate with, and provide technical support to CDA in responding to the Call for Action for GE in co-ops. AWCF Executive Director Ms Salome Ganibe led her office's efforts in coordinating with CDA. (See related article)


With the support of CDA Chairperson Mr. Santiaguel, the key officers (led by Ms Mercedes Castillo, one of the CDA Board of Administrators or BOA) and management staff in CDA’s Central Office and field offices gave also their support to the Call for Action and translated that support to activities (technical working group meetings between AWCF and CDA; gender awareness sessions with CDA officers and staff, and co-ops in attendance; and other discussions). All these activities ultimately led to the drafting and  subsequent approval in November 18, 2013 by the CDA's BOA of Memorandum Circular (MC) 2013-22, pertaining to "Guidelines on Mainstreaming Gender and Development (GAD) inCooperatives." The Circular aims at disseminating to the co-op sector in the Philippines theGAD mandate of government, and therefore ensure the promotion of GE and institutionalization of GAD in policies, programs, and other activities of co-ops.


The pursuance of GAD and GE in Philippine co-ops is not a new undertaking, as the seed of gender awareness was planted in the co-op movement in the late 1980s to early 1990s. Co-ops that had embraced GE have been enjoying so far the advantages to their organizations and women and men members of being gender-fair. But, until now, GE efforts have reached a limited number of co-ops and also have achieved a limited quantity and quality of outputs mainly because of the still prevailing gender issues in society that had found their way into co-op structures. These are gender issues that co-ops have to recognize and address with commitment and passion if they believe that GE is a great way to achieve even greater co-op sustainability. And to attain this objective, co-ops need the support and assistance of gender advocates/resource persons in the co-op movement, and the support of government toward achieving GAD and GE.

AWCF and the GERCs thus view CDA’s issuance of the GAD Circular that leads to GE in co-ops as one of the most important steps that will surely bring about the even greater sustainability of Philippine co-ops, in both social and economic fronts. There is no lack of data, proofs, and testimonies on how having GE in co-ops results to stronger, happier, and even more relevant organizations (increased membership, lowered delinquency, more services, etc.) and, subsequently, stronger and happier families that support their co-ops even more. 


Locating the GERCs in co-ops
The GERCs now operating in Luzon,Visayas, and Mindanao regions are based in the following co-operatives:
  
GERC Luzon:
-Abra Diocesan Teachers and EmployeesMulti-Purpose Cooperative (ADTEMPCO)
-Bulacan Federation of Cooperatives (BUFECO)
-Ligas Kooperatiba ng Bayan sa Pagpapaunlad (LKBP)
-Nueva Segovia Consortium of Cooperatives (NSCC)
-Sacred Heart Credit and Development Cooperative (SHCDC)
-St. Martin of Tours Credit and Development Cooperative (SMTCDC)

• Contact persons

Ms Lani Babista  lani_babista@yahoo.com
Ms Divina Quemi (NSCC)  nsccvigan2@yahoo.com

 GERC Visayas:

-Cebu People’s Multi-Purpose Cooperative (CPMPC)
-Cordova Multi-Purpose Cooperative (CMC)
-Don Bosco Network Multi-Purpose Cooperative(DBNMPC)
-Dumanjug Multi-Purpose Cooperative (DMPC)
-Lamac Multi-Purpose Cooperative (LMPC)
-Mandaue City Public Market Vendors Multi-Purpose Cooperative (MAVENCO)
-Metro Ormoc Community Cooperative (OCCCI)

• Contact person

Ms Edita Fernandez    Fernandezedita@yahoo.com

 

GERC MASS-SPECC:

   GERC MASS-SPECC is composed of the following co-op organizations—

-MASS-SPECC Cooperative Development Center (MASS-SPECC)
-Aurora Integrated Multi-Purpose Cooperative (AIM Coop)
-Bukidnon Employees Multi-Purpose Cooperative(BUGEMCO)
-Notre Dame of Marbel University Employees DevelopmentCooperative (NDMU Coop)
-Tagum Cooperative (TC)
-Zillovia Women’s Multi-Purpose Cooperative(ZWMPC) 
(Note:Primary co-ops above compose the MASS-SPECC Gender Equality Committee.)

Also in the GERC MASS-SPECC:
-Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology National Multi-Purpose Cooperative (MSU-IIT NMPC)
-Paglaum Multi-Purpose Cooperative (PMPC)
-Panabo Multi-Purpose Cooperative (Panabo MPC)
-Pantukan Chess Club Cooperative (PCCC)

• Contact person

Ms Bernadette Toledo   nadettetoledo@yahoo.com.ph


More information on GAD, GE, the GERCs, and GERC AWCF can be obtained from the above-listed GERCs, and from emailing awcf@coopwomen.org

Philippine co-op office issues circular for gender and development

Of interest to Philippine co-ops:

The Philippine government's Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) has issued Memorandum Circular (MC) 2013-22, pertaining to "Guidelines on Mainstreaming Gender and Development (GAD) in Cooperatives." The CDA Board of Administrators (BOA), led by Chairperson Mr. Emmanuel Santiaguel, PhD,  approved the MC under Resolution Number 245, series of 2013 dated November 18, 2013. The approval was done in the BOA's regular meeting on the said date held at the CDA Central Office in Quezon City, Philippines, with the motion presented by CDA Administrator Ms Mercedes Castillo, seconded by CDA Administrator Mr. Pendatun Disimban, to approve the proposed guidelines pertaining to MC 2013-22. The MC is applicable to co-ops duly registered with the CDA.