DAVAO CITY—Some 100 cooperatives from across the Bangsamoro region were granted financial assistance amounting to a total of P150,000 to continue serving their members.
The Bangsamoro government’s Cooperative and Social Enterprise Authority (CSEA) distributed the checks to the cooperatives under its Special Assistance for Viable Enterprise or SAVE grant program.
Seventy-four of the cooperatives are operating from the mainland provinces of Maguindanao Del Sur, Maguindanao del Norte, and Lanao Del Sur, as well as cities of Cotabato and Marawi, while 26 are from the island provinces of Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi.
The first batch of 56 cooperatives from the mainland provinces areas received their checks on December 29, while the remaining beneficiaries are scheduled to receive their assistance in January 2023.
Abdullah Dipatuan, chief of the CSEA Administrative Division, said the cooperatives were identified after a thorough selection and screening process set under the grant’s guidelines.
“The selected cooperatives underwent a strict process of application, including the submission of their respective project proposal and verification of their residencies from conflict-affected areas. They were severely affected by the pandemic, and needing sustainable intervention,” Dipatuan said.
CSEA Executive Director Samcia Ibrahim also emphasized the importance of the cooperatives’ compliance to ensure that the beneficiaries were really functional and operational.
“This financial assistance will serve as a start-up capital of your cooperatives in the implementation of your submitted feasible and viable business proposal to increase your earnings and eventually, your co-op will boost its functionality and could even lead to enhance the living conditions of your members,” Ibrahim said.
“Since this is a grant, you will expect that we will closely monitor the implementation of this program,” she added.
Ismael Zaman, chairman of Kalalagan Marketing Cooperative from Lanao del Sur said his co-operative “decided to put up a sari-sari store to sell rice, fertilizers and other farm commodities to cater to the necessities of our own co-op members and farmers in our area”.
Engr. Mlang Madal, chairman of Duca Farmers and Fisherfolks Marketing Cooperative in Cotabato City said money would be used as capital either for another project or to its existing poultry raising activity.
CSEA Social Enterprise Division Chief Lininding Pangandaman said the Bangsamoro government would hope that the grant would serve as “vehicle in the progress of your respective cooperatives and means of alleviating your own living conditions from your family and to your community in general.”