TACLOBAN CITY — Northern Samar is targeting a nearly tenfold increase in the number of registered cooperatives in the province over the next three years, with provincial officials linking the expansion to stronger livelihoods and greater community resilience to disasters.
Provincial Cooperative and Community Affairs Office (PCCAO) Officer-in-Charge Rei Josiah Echano said the province aims to increase its current 83 cooperatives to as many as 800, particularly by organizing underserved communities and informal livelihood groups into registered cooperatives.
Echano announced the target during the opening of the National Cooperative Month celebration on Oct. 1 at the Capitol Gymnasium in Barangay Dalakit, Northern Samar.
He said the expansion would focus on increasing cooperative membership, strengthening capitalization and extending cooperative services to more sectors, including agriculture, microfinance, transportation and consumer enterprises.
“This Cooperative Month is not just a celebration of where we are, but a call to action for where we need to go. Let us celebrate this month by laying the foundation for a stronger, safer, and a more resilient Northern Samar,” Echano said.
He stressed that the expansion should complement existing cooperatives rather than compromise their quality and sustainability.
“Our strategy will focus on both capacity-building for existing primary cooperatives and establishing new enterprises in underserved municipalities,” he said.
The PCCAO plans to support the expansion through continuing training on governance, regulatory compliance and financial management to help ensure the stability and long-term viability of cooperatives.
Echano also described cooperatives as an important part of the province’s disaster risk reduction efforts, particularly because member-owned organizations can provide financial and livelihood support before and after disasters.
Cooperatives can establish micro-insurance programs, emergency loan funds and shared savings schemes to help members cope with crop losses, property damage and medical emergencies.
They can also allow farmers, fisherfolk, transport workers and micro-entrepreneurs to pool resources, improve products and develop additional sources of income.
For small producers, cooperative membership can provide access to shared equipment, grain storage and post-harvest facilities that may be too costly for individual operators.
Echano said cooperatives could also mobilize members in protecting forests, watersheds and coastal areas that serve as natural protection against hazards.
Following disasters, organized cooperatives can help distribute assistance, restore local supply chains and revive economic activities in affected communities.
He said the need to expand the cooperative sector is particularly important because thousands of members of informal farming associations, fisherfolk groups, transport operators’ associations, women’s organizations and small vendors remain vulnerable to economic and climate-related shocks.
The PCCAO plans to help organize these groups into cooperatives that can register with the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA), potentially giving them access to government grants, climate-resilience programs and low-interest credit.
The initiative also aims to keep financial returns, including patronage refunds and dividends, circulating within local communities.
Echano called on municipal governments, the CDA and communities to work together in achieving the province’s cooperative expansion target.
He said the broader goal is to help Northern Samar move away from dependence on recurring disaster assistance by building stronger and more sustainable sources of income at the community level.
October is observed as National Cooperative Month in the Philippines under Republic Act No. 11502, enacted in December 2020.
This year’s celebration carries the theme, “Matibay na Kooperatiba: Nagkakaisang Pamayanan para sa Kapayapaan at Kaunlaran,” pursuant to CDA Board Resolution No. 353, series of 2026.
(ROEL T. AMAZONA)
