As government leader of Ilocos Norte, Bongbong Marcos (BBM) gave me the definite
impression he was a good governor (GG). The other day, via Facebook, I discovered
him an unknown but good gospeler (GG) for cooperatives, which I had conceived
could provide a common good gate (GG) out of poverty for Filipino farming
communities!
I am reading BBM’s 800-word speech, “A Model For Philippine
Cooperative Development[1]” delivered
17 October 2011 at the “Cavite Cooperatives Month” celebration courtesy of
Cavite Governor Jonvic Remulla. BBM’s last sentence is an
eye-opener:
“How
fitting and glorious that cooperatives development should find its greatest
exponent here in the province where the Philippine Republic was born.”
(lower image[2] by Atty Sugar, YouTube)
Before this, I already believed the cooperative can be
the most applicable and most potent vehicle for community development in this
country, given millions of farmer families suffering what we Ilocanos
call “gawat” – lack of money – which occurs twice
yearly in-between planting and harvesting of rice. Gawat is brought about
by the fact that farmers borrow money from five-sixers – they borrow 5 and pay
back 6, no questions asked.
Gawat is a wound inflicted by farmers on their own families.
Farmers cultivate rice, corn and/or vegetables, but do not cultivate thrift and business-mindedness.
I am a member of the Nagkaisa
Multi-Purpose Cooperative in my hometown of Asingan, Pangasinan. I am a
son of a farmer and I did help in the growing of vegetables in our dryland farm
(bangkag) across the Chico River. Neither
rich nor poor, my father did not have
to resort to five-six to finance his dryland (vegetables) & wetland (rice)
farming.
Millions of Filipino farmers are not so fortunate. And that is why I have been thinking that the Agricultural
Credit Policy Council (ACPC), an agency under the Department of Agriculture (DA), should
formulate & fund a multi-Billion
peso loan program for multi-purpose cooperatives (MPCs) throughout the islands,
so that the MPCs can provide loans, equipment, trainings, production,
processing and marketing services to member farmers. That program I call
Technical
& Utility Loans & Learning Offerings & Opportunities Necessary for
Group Development of Agriculture (TULONGDA). Village farmers need a complete package of assistances to
rise from poverty and stay up there!
Now then, I am 100% sure BBM would be a willing father to DA’s
TULONGDA. BBM had seen how hundreds of cooperatives can work for thousands of
people – in Cavite. He said in his speech:
It’s wonderful and
thrilling for me to see that the cooperative movement is alive and well here in
Cavite. And it’s inspiring to learn that there are hundreds of thriving
cooperatives in your province, and that their combined membership runs to
nearly 100,000 members.
As former governor of
Ilocos Norte, I know firsthand about the role that cooperatives can play in the
development and wellbeing of local communities.
Cooperative
Cavite country-wide cultivating cooperatives cultivating crops cultivating communities’
creativity – BBM, that will be going great!@517
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