FICCO blazing the trail as RP’s biggest cooperative

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, March 20, 2011—Despite problems and factionalism inside its board of directors (BOD), the First Community Cooperative (FICCO) continue to blaze the trail in the Philippines’ cooperative movement as the country’s biggest cooperative.
                With a total membership breaching the 140,000 mark, assets surpassing the P4.59 billion mark, shares of P1.6 billion and deposits amounting to P2.09 billion, FICCO continue to soar high year after year for 56 years now.
                As the leading cooperative in the Philippines, FICCO continue to increase its contribution to the economy of its birthplace, Mindanao.
                In 2010 alone, FICCO released almost P4 billion in loans to its members. During the last five years, its loan releases totaled P15.3 billion.
                “The multiplier effect of these infusions in terms of taxes paid, employment generated and confidence earned is immeasurable, validating once more FICCO’s role as catalyst in Mindanao,” said BOD chair Luis S. Yap in his report to the members during the general assembly of the cooperative’s different branches this month.
                However, FICCO’s profitability rate decreased by 1.2 percent from the 2009 rate of 48.6% to only P47.4% in 2010 as its return on asset rate also decrease last year to 6.4% from 6.5% in 2009.
                “Despite the lower profitability rate, dividend and patronage refund rates increased,” said Yap.
                In 2010, FICCO’s dividend rate was 11% compared to 2009’s 10.75% while its patronage refund in 2010 was 10% compared to 2009’s 9.75%. FICCO also provided a superior 8% yield of members’ time deposits.
                “These clearly reflect the values and principles on which the FICCO management is bounded: good governance, quality of service, sacrifice, volunteerism and efficiency,” Yap said.
                Yap also said that FICCO, as the leading light in the cooperative movement, is leading the charge of achieving the cooperative movement’s Holy Grail—uniting the different cooperatives in the Philippines.
                He noted that despite the cooperative movement’s leaders’ conclusion that “we cannot unite” because of losing one’s stage and perks, FICCO continues to lift high the torch of hope that this elusive unity can be achieved.
                “Recent developments provided a glimmer of hope for coops in this country to still achieve that elusive unity. Last year’s Coop Summit, from its preparations, to the actual summit activities, up to the post-summit follow-up meetings, was and is geared towards uniting the coop movement in this country. FICCO is at the forefront of these activities as it holds the enviable position of being ahead in promoting one coop bank, one coop insurance, one coop 
asset management. In short, FICCO leads the putting up of an integrated coop financial system (ICFS),” he said.
                FICCO strongly believes that through the ICFS, the cooperatives’ goal of redistributing the wealth, alleviating poverty and building the Philippines can be achieved. (Bong D. Fabe)

FICCO GA affirms BOD’s withdrawal of support to Ating Koop partylist

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, March 18, 2011—The members of the First Community Cooperative have formally affirmed the move of the cooperative’s Board of Directors (BOD) to severe their ties with the Adhikaing Tinaguyod ng Kooperatib (ATing Koop) partylist, which FICCO helped established to the tune of P11 million.
                During the general assembly of FICCO’s different branches this month, the members unanimously approved General Assembly Resolution No. 07-2011 which “confirm[ed] the action of the BOD in not implementing GA Resolution No. 2010-04 and to withdraw from ATing Koop.”
                GA Resolution No. 2010-04, which was approved by the members last year, required every FICCO member to become ATing Koop members and to “pay the membership fee of P100” with FICCO paying half while the members paying the other half.
                But due to some schism between different factions of the BOD and between officers of FICCO and ATing Koop, the BOD decided not to implement this resolution and decided to withdraw the cooperative’s support to the partylist 
group.
                In its monthly newsletter, the cooperative, through directors Luis Yap, Cecil Laguna, Ed Sambaan, Art Aldamia and Jake Cornito, explained that FICCO decided to withdraw its support to ATing Koop because of (1) lawyer Proculo Sarmen’s insistence of agreeing to be the partylist’s number one nominee only if he is elected BOD chair; (2) ATing Koop’s Central Committee refusal to grant FICCO’s request to replace Sarmen as nominee with another FICCO director, 
Isagani Daba; (3) ATing Koop leaders’ smear campaign against FICCO; and (4) use of the partylist’s and cooperative’s money to buy votes during the Lanao special elections.
                Sarmen was designated the partylist’s number one nominee when FICCO helped established the ATing Coop. But “despite knowing the existing policy that the FICCO[partylist] nominee should not be an officer of FICCO, Atty. Sarmen ran for the position of BOD. He won.” This was during the March 21, 2010 general assembly of the FICCO-Main.
                “During the organization meeting, [Sarmen] gave the FICCO board an ultimatum: he will only agree to be the [partylist’s] nominee if he is elected BOD chair. The Board met the challenge head on and elected Mr. Luis Yap as chairman. Atty. Sarmen then told the BOD that he is withdrawing his name as nominee. The BOD designated Mr. Isagani Daba as FICCO nominee,” wrote Yap, Laguna, Sambaan, Aldamia and Cornito in the newsletter.
                They also said that when the ATing Koop Central Committee refused to replace Sarmen with the new nominee, Daba, because “the selection process was already over,” FICCO countered that(a) the names of the AK nominees were not yet submitted to COMELEC, (b) there was no selection process observed for Mindanao nominees, (c) the list of Mindanao nominees was a choice of Atty. Sarmen alone without proper consultation with AK Mindanao, and (d) to reconsider FICCO’s request considering that it bankrolled AK at the start. 
                “All the above arguments fell on deaf ears. We cannot totally blame the members of the [ATing Koop]  CenCom. Because FICCO’s own representative in the CenCom undermined FICCO’s position. Contrary to his earlier pronouncements, Atty. Sarmen, claiming that he was back-stabbed, called up beforehand the members of the CenCom not to give due course to FICCO’s request. FICCO responded by withdrawing support and putting on hold the GA 
resolution that would have collected, from [each member] a P 50 membership fee,” they said.
                FICCO, acknowledged to be the country’s biggest cooperative, with membership breaching the 140,000 mark, assets surpassing P4.59 billion, shares of P1.6 billion and deposits totaling P2.09 billion, decided to throw its hat in the political arena during the 2010 elections in the hope that it “could bring its culture into the political arena and hopefully make a difference.”
                But due to “something in Philippine-style politics that can loosen the values even of men with long exposure to our FICCO culture,” the cooperative’s hope of changing politics for the better “totally disintegrated.” (Bong D. Fabe)