What went wrong Iloilo?
I was in Dumaguete City three weeks ago to participate in the 2nd Philippine Cooperative TEAMshop. It was a big event. About 2,000 cooperators from all over the country convened in the “City of Gentle People.”
The experience made me realize how strong a cooperative movement in the country is. Imagine, in the Visayas alone, at least three cooperatives are billionaires. The rest are millionaires. Thus, with more than 16,000 (as of September 30) registered cooperatives nationwide, it is safe to assume that billions worth of properties and assets in this country are managed by cooperatives.
There are still about 50,000 other cooperatives that did not re-register under the Republic Act 9520 or the Cooperative Code of the Philippines of 2008 by the September 30 deadline.
Well, one obvious reason of their failure to re-register is most of these cooperatives are dying a natural death. But, still many of these cooperatives failed or opted not to renew their registration with the Cooperative Development Authority for reasons we don’t know.
Registered or not, one thing is sure – the cooperative movement in this country is not only flourishing, it is an economic force to reckon with.
The opportunity to be part of the TEAMshop has broadened my understanding of cooperativism. I have been a member of the board of directors of our cooperative for about four years now; but I know there are still many things about cooperativism that I have to know.
Thus, I am always excited to join conventions and other activities where updates regarding the cooperative movement in the country and around the globe are tackled. Besides, meeting other cooperators is another opportunity to learn best practices which can be of help to my cooperative if replicated.
More than these, however, big events like this TEAMshop also bring the participants to experience other places, understand different cultures, and learn from different environments.
As in the case of my recent experience, aside from getting amazed with the reality of cooperative movement in the country, I was also overwhelmed upon seeing the Negros Oriental Convention Center.
The convention center, which served as venue of the TEAMshop, is a work in progress in the heart of Dumaguete City. The construction is going on but a big portion of the facility is already in use.
I could not really help but admire the local officials of Negros Oriental for coming up with such a big project. Aside from being big, the convention center is also a wise investment.
I could only bow and shake my head with frustration with my beloved Iloilo (the province and city taken as one).
When I shared my frustration to my fellow TEAMshop participants, they tried to explain saying that the project is made possible because of former Secretary of Finance Margarito Teves who hails from Dumaguete City.
Their justification may not, however, be enough to explain the existence of that Convention Center.
So, what went wrong with Iloilo?
If it only takes one to be positioned closer to the President of the Republic of the Philippines to have big project as such, Iloilo could have had several kinds of this project already.
In reference to the past administration, the Secretary of Justice was an Ilonggo. He was powerful. He was a “king.” Aside from him, we had two senators and six representatives, too – five from the Iloilo Province and one from Iloilo City Lone District. Yet, this robust representation did not make a difference. Iloilo is still incapable of holding big conventions. The reason – we don’t have a structure, big enough to house three to five thousand people.
And why this causes me to feel sad? Simple. Holding conventions does not only boost our economy, it also promotes our tourism sites, attractions and best practices. Simply speaking, it is a way up.
I could only hope our local officials will conceive projects that can truly make Iloilo really a big thing in the south and eventually be at par with fastest growing places, like Cebu and Davao.*
