MINERVA BC NEWMAN
CEBU CITY – The Cebu People’s Multi-purpose Cooperative (CPMPC) or widely known today as People’s Coop celebrates its 50th year anniversary on December 21 this year with an estimated asset worth Pph2.4 billion and more than 100,000 members nationwide.
CPMPC president and CEO Brian Yap, in his opening message during the Leader’s Night and 50th Founding Anniversary on December 12 at Marco Polo Plaza Hotel recalled that the first decade of the cooperative was the most challenging.
“It experienced its first bout of high loan delinquency in 1976, squabbles among the board of directors (BOD) in 1978 that led to the unpredictability and erratic performance of the cooperative. By the end of 1985, the Coop’s membership slowly slid to 906 from 1,500,” Yap bared.
The BOD then called for organizational reforms to democratize decision making and to give more opportunities for the members to participate in the leadership of the cooperative. It improved the members participation and communication system; hastened conflict resolutions and potential problems were avoided.
The organizational reforms also improved the feedback system of the Cooperative and became a tool in improving the products and services of the Coop. On March 5, 2006 during its 33rd annual general assembly, the BOD institutionalized the leadership structure by zonal representation.
According to Yap,this is a system where the BODs of the Cooperative are representatives of zones elected from a representative assembly. The transition started in the ensuing year until its full implementation in the year thereafter.
Today, People’s Coop boasts of 59 community chapters and some Institutional chapters which are company or organization-based. These are spread out in 9 zones and served by 13 branch offices and a head office in Pasil, Cebu City.
These branch offices cover the northern, central and southern parts of Cebu Province. These are strategically located in Talamban, Mandaue, Lapu-lapu, Liloan, Bogo and Bantayan in north; Tabunok, Carcar and Balamban in the south; Pasil, Blessed Sacrament, Salinas and F.Llamas in the Central part of Cebu.
CPMPC launches its Coffee Table book
In celebration of the People’s Coop golden anniversary, CPMPC launched the “Peoples Journey: A Living Story of a Cooperative” a coffee table book that chronicled the journey and shares the story of this cooperative from the challenging birth in the 70’s through the struggles, battles, and victories in the present time.
This legacy book described how Anthony Martin and VICTO founded a laboratory coop that aimed to organize the poor in Cebu City, transforming it through the years from a credit coop into a diversified organization to meet the growing needs of its members and it thrives as time dictates change in the way people live, the cooperative way.
In the audio-visual presentation (AVP), the book is described as a learning book that opens its door to the public who are interested in the path Cebu Peoples Coop took from 27 people to 100,000 membership and from a mere P2,000 capital to a multi-billion-peso cooperative today.
It also showcases the triumphs over the ordeals of COVID19 pandemic and Typhoon Odette; the growth and transformation from a financial to transport services; from just coop members to member-operators and entrepreneurs. The book also talks about the next frontier and the new horizon for the cooperatives I the country.
People’s Coop recognizes its pioneer founders, members
On the same Leader’s Night on December 12, PMPC recognized 10 pioneer founding members whose sturdy presence with their age showed how their dedication to the Cooperative is worthy of standing ovation with hand salute, which all the attendees did.
CPMPC recognized these 10 pioneers that included; Marcelo Real, Nicefuro Omamalin, Cesar Carangue, Ludivina Martin, Anacorita Costanilla, Lucia Labalan, Ludivina Padin, Urbano Cejudo and Cong. Cresente Paez.
Luvidina Martin, in her acceptance speech thanked the organizers for the award, recognition and token as she reminisced the beginnings of the cooperative and happy that she still around to celebrate the 50th year anniversary.
CPMPC started with 27 founding members with an initial share capital of P2,175 that was fist registered with the Bureau of Agricultural Cooperative Development (BACOD) as a credit cooperative in December 5, 1975 under Registration No. FF-028.
With the approval of RA 6938 in 1990 otherwise known as The Cooperative Code of the Philippines, the Cooperative was given a certificate of confirmation by the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) on October 28, 1993.
In compliance again to RA 9520 or The New Philippine Cooperative Code of 2008, the same Authority issued to the Cooperative a new Certificate of Registration in December 18, 2009 which the CPMPC is holding as its documentary registration.
CPMPC operates People’s Jeep
The People’s Coop also operates the modern jeepneys called “People’s Jeep” that are servicing the routes in Cebu City, Mandaue City, Lapulapu City and now extended up to the City of Naga and in Liloan towns.
In the same night during the press conference, former CPMPC CEO and spokesperson for People’s Jeep Macario Quevedo revealed that CPMPC has 190 Jeeps running in Cebu and is expected to add 200 units more and the 60 units are set to be delivered in January next year.
