Multi-awarded cooperative begins with less than a thousand pesos

By BONG PEDALINO (PIA Southern Leyte)
December 5, 2007

HINUNANGAN, Southern Leyte  –  The Saints Peter and Paul Multi-Purpose Cooperative (SPPMC) in this municipality has come a long, long way.

From a humble initial pooled capital in 1968 of only P856 – the revenue earned from drying copra, a collective effort of the 36 original members who contributed 25 pieces of coconuts each member – the Cooperative now boasts of assorted assets worth, at the last count, P105 Million.

Over the past 40 years, the Coop members from all walks of life have grown dramatically to more than 2,000 individuals, and the services provided have expanded by leaps and bounds as well, other than the usual manner of extending credit or loans.

The Coop now has its own two-storey hotel business, a rice-milling operation, quasi-banking, and a physical fitness gym in the second floor of its main office, among others.

Next year, just in time for its 40th anniversary celebration in March, plans are now in the pipeline to open an internet service provider and a food stall, among other priorities.

Despite all the crowning success, Honorato Vacal, Chairman of the Board of Directors, acknowledged the founder of SPPMPC in the person of Rev. Fr. Frederick Wakeheim, a Scarboro Missionary, who organized the Cooperative along with his fellow missionaries in mid-1960s.

Fr. Wakeheim was the driving force behind the dogged contribution of coconuts from the pioneering 36 members, 15 of them listed as incorporators, until such time they processed those stuff into copra and sold, the money received serving as the initial capital as the Cooperative went on the normal organizational procedures, Vacal narrated.

Chairman Vacal shared the pieces of information mentioned above during a mock news conference last week as part of the two-day newswriting seminar-workshop.

The workshop was participated by members of the Board of Directors and was intended to equip them on basic writing skills preparatory for the production of an in-house SPPMPC Newsletter which will come out quarterly starting in January next year, an added attraction to the Cooperative’s Ruby celebration.

This writer, together with Philippine Daily Inquirer Correspondent Jani Arnaiz, served as the facilitators of the two-day activity, November 27 and 28.

In the last forty years of the Cooperative’s life, Vacal admitted it was not always a rosy ride; he reminisced about four or five times the Cooperative went down but was able to recover.

For those down trodden days, ownership meetings were the common occurrence to thresh out the problem and try to find solutions, like no honorarium for the officers, and close-in, house-to-house collections which resulted to a marked reduction of delinquent loans.

Over time the Cooperative bounced back to healthy status and this got the attention of Landbank, wherein the bank conferred its prestigious, coveted award for outstanding cooperatives nationwide to SPPMC – not only once but more than a couple of times already in a row.

The latest was held last August 8, 2007, at Malacanang, the Ginintuang Pilak Award which carries not just a citation for the honor but also P1 Million.

The award money will be used to buy a new service vehicle to replace the 8-year old one they have been using, Vacal said.