On 14 March 2011, Chair Santiaguel called a national convergence to revisit and fine-tune the PCMTDP to be responsive to the new dispensation's development framework as contained in the President's "Social Contract with the Filipino People." The daylong forum was participated-in by no less than the Chairman of the Philippine Cooperative Center, Mr. Agapito "Butz" Aquino together with selected cooperative leaders, chairmen of national cooperative federations, representatives from various government line agencies and key officials from the CDA including all CDA Regional Directors.

All the Policy Directions in Part III of the Plan became the subject of thorough discussions and after the deliberations in the workshops, all were unanimous to modify the policy directions and to integrate the 3-point agenda of the New Chair. (Please See Appendix I - the revised PCMTDP on page 49) The modified and additional policy directions (from 4 to 5) are presented below and what have been done thus far by the new Chair to advance the same.

On Policy Direction No. 1. The strengthening and enhancing delivery mechanisms of the Cooperative Development Authority.

Indeed, it has become imperative to transform CDA into an efficient, effective and responsive government regulatory and developmental agency.
It is in this context that the new Chairman has anchored one of his 3-PointAgendawhichis the Capability-Building and Enhancement of CDA personnel through the Cooperative Training Institute. He gave his marching order to the Personnel Section to conduct Training Needs

Assessment, fine tune the corresponding training modules and to start the human resource development of CDA personnel the soonest time possible.
The new Chairman has put on top of his Agenda the building-up of the collective institutional capacities of CDA, not only in terms of HRD but also in sourcing-out additional funds for logistical support and the imperative task of filling up vacant positions.

It is his observation that while the number of cooperatives in the country has gone up six-fold after CDA was organized 21 years ago, however, the number of CDA personnel has not increased at all, worse, some 150 positions have been left vacant through resignation and retirement, because of the pending "rationalization" and attrition law.

In the face of the herculean task ahead to serve some 18,000 cooperatives nationwide, CDA's budget for operation has remained as low as ever year after year. Thus, the new Chair has to do lobbying himself for the much needed resources to put CDA in shape.

The new Chairman is now up to the task to enable CDA to become a responsive lead agency doing coordinative functions. It behooves upon CDA to create convergences with line agencies promoting cooperativism in its own right. Thus, a priority agenda of the new Chair is to coordinate with these agencies based on their shared vision. This is exemplified by a working paper on CDA-DAE Convergence (Please See Appendix II on page 54).

With the on-going legislative process of crafting a new CDA Charter, the new Chair sees the need for full CDA participation. It is in this context that he wrote the Chair of the Technical Working Group of Joint Oversight Committee on Cooperatives of the Senate and House of Representatives for the full participation of the Regional Directors in such legislative process.

While CDA is in the frontline of mobilizing the people through their cooperatives to combat widespread poverty that calls for the correct policy environment, yet, CDA is nowhere in terms of being an integral of the constitutionallycreated bodies such as the Regional Development Council (RDC). It is the strong advocacy of the new Chair for CDA to be a full member of RDCs.

On Policy Direction No. 2. Providing an enabling environment for the strengthening and development of cooperatives.

The new Chairman, prior to his stint as CDA Chair, has been in the forefront of advancing cooperativism as an instrument of social justice, equity and sustainable development. As the Provincial Cooperative Development Officer then, he must have gained headways as his works had catapulted the Province of Cavite as the Nation's Cooperative Capital where the cooperatives' razon d' etre is to combat poverty.

He believes that this is what cooperatives are for, by nature, by nurture and by law. Gauging by these noble aims, he understands very well that cooperatives are facing great challenges in a country where "a few have much too much and the many who are poor have much too little. This time, he can do no less but leave no stone unturned, so to speak, in empowering the cooperatives to uproot the root causes of massive poverty.

On its part, the CDA must prove equal to the task of being the lead agency to strengthen and empower the cooperatives.

The new Chair pretty well understands that in the struggle to reduce aggravated poverty, the development experts have pointed out in their Studies that the root cause of poverty is the powerlessness and social exclusion of the people. That as a remedial measure, the poor must build their coalition, to form cooperatives which are strong enough to be a countervailing force against poverty.

He has observed that social change has been elusive all these years for those who have dreamt and struggled for it. Political and economic structures which are causing poverty, after two decades of Martial Law and after two "people power revolutions, have remained as formidable as ever. True, there have been of guards but the instruments of greed continue to breed poverty. It has become imperative therefore, for the people to organize themselves into cooperatives and empowering the cooperatives has become a condition sine qua non for the much sought social change.

It is in this context that the new Chair has anchored the agenda of putting-up Cooperative Training Institutes in Regions where there are none. Such will be the venue for the conduct of Cooperative Human Resource Development, and thus, capacitate our cooperatives. This is in line with developing the people's collective potentials based on the truism that a country that has not developed its human capital is penalized by slow growth.

In empowering the cooperatives to make them strong and sustainable, it behooves upon all stakeholders to redefine their respective roles and functions and to work harmoniously with each other. It is only then that these stakeholders can participate in the common struggle of advancing cooperativism, not as competitors, but as partners.

Based on this truism, the new Chairman has put in his priority agenda the calling of national consultations among stakeholders. The first national convergence called by the new Chair was the National Consultative Forum between the CDA and the LGUs' Cooperative Development Officers held in Davao City on February 23-25, 2011. Some 300 Cooperative Development Officers at all levels( Provincial, City and Municipal) came to participate and interacted with key officials of the Cooperative Development Authority.

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