Western Visayas has two billionaire cooperatives based in Antique out of the 2,012 cooperatives registered in the region, proving that cooperativism is alive in Western Visayas, the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) said Tuesday.

During the Kapihan sa Bagong Pilipinas public briefing, CDA regional director Antonio Escobar said the Barbaza and Bugasong Multi-Purpose Cooperatives are billionaires in terms of assets.

“Barbaza Multi-Purpose Cooperative is number one in Region 6. I think it is PHP3 billion and counting. There’s only a slight difference with Bugasong Multi-Purpose Cooperative,” he said.

He said the two cooperatives have already exceeded the micro (PHP3 million and below), small (PHP3 million to PHP15 million), medium (PHP15 million to PHP100 million), and large (more than PHP100 million) categories.

Escobar noted that successful cooperatives in Antique started with the church, the common denominator being the Mill Hill Missionaries, with some already in existence for around 50 years.

“They are church-based. The foundation is very strong because there is religious and value formation. Their officers are educated, in fact, mostly are from the teaching profession,’ he added.

He said around 72 percent, fall within the micro and small categories.

Escobar said that involvement in a cooperative should be a way of life and not just because they are earning or their needs are provided.

“We do not see this as a business model. We advocate that cooperative should be seen as a way of life. It’s not just doing business but serving the needs primarily of the members. In cooperatives, it’s service above profit,” Escobar stressed.

CDA data showed, however, that out of the over 2,000 coops in the region, only 644 are compliant as of the end of 2023.

These cooperatives have 879,210 members, 537,486 of which are female. (PNA)