COOPERATIVES play a very vital role in the socio-economic life of Filipino people. They act as an important driver in the development of the country’s economic and social conditions. They are more urgently needed among social groups with less income and resources than by those with sufficient resources. Thus, cooperatives were proven to be effective instruments for the advancement of the working classes and the less fortunate segments of the society (cf. Cooperative in the Philippines, 2012). As such, cooperatives have become subjects of researches of various academic and non-government institutions. However, results of researches relating to Philippine Cooperatives and its development are rarely published. Even the Internet, considered the super-highway of information, through its websites and downloadable information, and digitized research materials, is lacking of any valuable reading materials about cooperatives in the Philippines.

Cognizant of this situational reality, the Union of Metro Manila Cooperatives (UMMC) in partnership with the PUP Department of Cooperatives and Social Development (PUP-DCSD); the Philippine Cooperative Center (PCC); and the Union of Enterprising Cooperatives (UNECO) virtually launched last September 28, 2021 “The Philippine Journal for COOP Studies” whose main thrust is to publish a compendium of researches on Philippine Cooperatives. As such this academic publication envisions: (1) To encourage researchers to publish their study about cooperatives; (2) To document cooperative best practices, particularly in the Philippines, and eventually, covering the global cooperative movement (3) To disseminate researches about cooperative studies as reference for policy and program development; and (4) To encourage the involvement of professionals in the conduct of researches related to cooperatives and cooperative management.

Such a collaborative undertaking will eventually open avenues for new frontiers of learning in the fields of: (1) Human Development, Health, and Sustainability; (2) Social and Cultural Diversity; (3) Economic and Environment Challenges; (4) Digital Technology and Innovation; (5) Good Governance and Transformational Leadership; and (6) Youth Involvement that would benchmark opportunities for growth in the COOP Sector.

As a scholarly avenue for academic dialogue done through “peer review” this undertaking seeks to promote “Dialectical Thinking” that allows each researcher and thinker the ability to view issues from multiple perspectives and arrive at the most economical and reasonable reconciliation of seemingly differing information and postures based on various “worldviews”; but whose ultimate goal is to allow in “cooperation” that the THESIS combined with an ANTI-THESIS form a SYNTHESIS of thought. Truly, it is an intellectual exercise done with our cooperative values as foundational roots.

The scholarly work of researches, studies and stories contained in this publication is likewise anaide-mémoire that through its pages we would rediscover and reorient ourselves with the Cooperative Identity, Principles and Values which hopefully would bring us towards a deeper understanding of the role and mission of Cooperatives in the furtherance of Philippine Society. As Pope Francis would say, cooperatives must continue to be “the motor that uplifts and develops the weakest parts of our local communities and civil society”.

“With the ongoing reinvention of the COOP UNION SYSTEM in the country vis-à-vis the benchmarking efforts of the Union of Metro Manila Cooperatives (UMMC) in the National Capital Region, it is my ardent hope that our partnership with PUP-DCDS, PCC and UNECO through this ACADEMIC JOURNAL would contribute as a knowledge resource material in the mission of unification, integration and consolidation of the cooperative sector. It is the values and principles lived out that distinguish the cooperative as the premiere social enterprise. This is the COOP-WAY” (Rev. Fr. Anton CT Pascual, UMMC Chairperson).

This collaboration between the COOP SECTOR and the ACADEMIC COMMUNITY undoubtedly plays a pivotal role for the growth and development of all member cooperatives and in the development of effective strategies for boosting the efficiency of the cooperative sector with due focus on professionalization.

In conclusion, allow me to quote Pope Francis during his address to the Confederation of Italian Cooperatives (2015), “This great leap forward that we propose cooperatives should do, will confirm that all that you have already done is not only positive and vital but continues to be prophetic also. Therefore, you must continue to invent – this is the word: to invent – new forms of cooperation, because the warning: when the tree puts out new branches, the roots are alive and the trunk is strong! — is also valid for cooperatives.” God bless us all and God bless our Cooperative Movement “that they may be one” (John 19:21).

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For any personal comments or suggestions, you may call 0917-4805585 or email me at [email protected].

AUTHOR PROFILE

Bro. Clifford T. Sorita