Antique, Iloilo coops win Gawad Pitak
Two cooperatives from Antique and Iloilo were among the awardees in the recent Gawad Pitak given by Land Bank of the Philippines during rites held at Malacañang Palace.
Now on its 20th year, the Gawad Pitak is awarded to LandBank assisted cooperatives in the country.
The Barbasa Multi-Purpose Cooperative in Antique placed third and received P300,000 in the form of fixed assests, under the agri-based category.
Other winners are San Joaquin MPC, Ilocos Norte – first place, P500,000; Kabalikat Para sa Diyos at Bayan MPC, Odiongan, Romblon – second place, P400,000;
Bagumbayan PMPC, Llanera, Nueva Ecija – fourth place, P200,000; and Catmon MPC, Sta. Maria, Bulacan – fifth place, P100,00.
The Dingle Government Workers Development Cooperative in Dingle, Iloilo won second place with a P250,000 prize in the non-agri based category.
It was recognized along with National Irrigation Administration Region 4 Employees MPC in Pila, Laguna – first place, P300,000; Sta. Cruz Savings and Development Cooperative in Sta. Cruz, Ilocos Sur – third place, 200,000; Escalante Public and Private School Teachers and Employees MPC in Negros Occidental – fourth place, P150,000; and Kapalong MPC in Davao del Norte – fifth place, P100,000.
The Masisit-Dacal Livelihood Cooperative from Sanchez Mira, Cagayan was awarded the Ginintuang Gawad Pitak award under the agri-based category. It received P1 million worth of fixed assets.
The Guinintuang Gawad Pitak under the cooperative rural bank category went to Cooperative Bank of Misamis Oriental from Cagayan de Oro City, which received P500,000 worth of fixed assets.
LandBank also awards the Gawad Entrepreneur to small and medium enterprises
with exemplary performance and significant achievements specifically in contributing to the economic growth and social development of local communities. It also seeks to provide SMEs with incentives to encourage them to improve their business.
The Gawad Pitak and Gawad Entrepreneur awards have become a reliable measure of the performance of the Landbank-assisted cooperatives and SMEs.
“We are optimistic that these awards will give motivation to our partner coops, cooperative rural banks, and SMEs to enhance their operations and to continue to support us in realizing our goals in countryside development,” LandBank President and CEO Gilda Pico said.*
