In many cases, owners of such businesses are driven to borrow from loan sharks who charge exorbitant interest rates which make it a boon not only to small businesses but also to the residents themselves if there exists a cooperative in their community that offers credit facilities and other benefits and services to its members.
Such is the case of the San Dionisio Credit Cooperative (SDCC), based in Barangay San Dionisio in Parañaque City.
From the original 28 members, all residents of the barangay, and a start-up capital of P380 in l96l, the cooperative now boasts of more than 5,000 active members from all over the city and assets of over P1 billion.
Starting mainly as a credit cooperative, the SDCC is acknowledged today as one of the most successful cooperatives in the country and a model to many other cooperatives in various barangays in Parañaque and elsewhere like Las Piñas.
It is credited with helping boost the overall economic progress and quality of life of the people of through various services offered.
From a purely credit institution dispensing with provident loans to its members, the SDCC now offers a range of services to a membership that continues to grow.
The services, benefits and incentives which SDCC offers to its members include: savings and time deposits, credit granting, appliance financing, Planong Abuluyan, Planong Damayan, land and housing assistance, drugstore, school (pre-school, elementary and high school), mailing services, bayad center, entrepreneurship, space rental, funeral services, and medical laboratory examination.
The success that SDCC now enjoys is not entirely its own doing since the local government of Paranaque, headed by Mayor Jun Bernabe, continues to be supportive of its programs and initiatives being himself a strong advocate of the cooperative movement and entrepreneurship.
Bernarbe sees the SDCC as a vital partner in improving the people’s quality of life by providing them with the means to augment their family incomes and the know-how to start a business for livelihood.
In recognition of his pro-cooperative stand, Bernabe received from Senator Aquilino Pimentel, Jr. the Most Outstanding Award for Excellence in Coop-LGU Partnership for 2006 for the achievements of a cooperative that has partnered with a local government unit (LGU) in the implementation of projects that contributed to the improvement in the quality of life and empowerment of the community.
Five other cooperatives from various parts of the country were adjudged by the National Steering and Selection Committee as Outstanding Cooperative-LGU partners in the partnership with city government category.
The Cooperative-LGU Partnership Award (CLPA) was initiated in 2002 to honor and recognize cooperatives that have partnered with local governments to pursue social or economic development.
It is a collaborative partnership between the author of the Local Government Code and the Cooperative Code and leading academic institutions like the UP National College of Public Administration and Governance, PUP College of Cooperatives, executive agencies like the Cooperative Development Authority, public enterprises including the Land Bank of the Philippines, private corporations like Bridge Com and Touch Mobile, and local governments through the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines to promote local empowerment and cooperative development.
The city government of Makati, through its Cooperative Development Office (MCDO), also takes pride in having registered a total of 34 new cooperatives in 2006.
In a report to Mayor Jejomar Binay, MCDO chief Jeremias Oliman said that 11 barangays in District I and eight barangays in District II have registered new cooperatives.
Oliman said new cooperatives in District I include eight in Barangay Bel-Air, four in San Lorenzo, two each in barangays San Antonio, Urdaneta, San Isidro, Olympia, Palanan, and one each in barangays Bangkal, Forbes Park, Tejeros and Pio del Pilar.
The new cooperatives in District II on the other hand, include three in Barangay Rizal, two in Pembo and one each in barangays Guadalupe Nuevo, East Rembo, and Pinagkaisahan.
The city’s Cooperative Development Office has been assisting different groups in Makati that want to organize and develop a cooperative.
In 2001, Binay ordered the use of an ample budget for the city government’s loan assistance program to ensure the viability of cooperatives formed in Makati.
The program grants financial assistance or loan to support the organization and development of community-based cooperatives in every barangay in Makati.
To date, the city of Makati already has 232 organized cooperatives, most of which are actively engaged in cooperative business.