Part II

According to membership and territory, the following are the categories of cooperatives:

In terns of membership:

I .Primary -The members of which are natural persons of legal age;

II .Secondary- The members of which are primaries;

III. Tertiary - The member of which are secondaries upward to one or more apex organizations. Cooperatives whose members are cooperatives are called federations or unions.

In terms of territory, cooperatives are categorized according to areas of operation which may not be coincide with the political subdivisions of the country.


What are the General Steps in Forming a Cooperative?

Basically, there six steps in setting up a cooperative.

First, get organized. You must have at least 15 members to do that. At once determine the common problems you would want solved and the basic needs you would want provided for through a cooperative. You may want to include increasing of your production, marketing of your produce, credit assistance, power generation, banking or insurance and other similar needs.

Determining your problems and needs will also help you classify the kind of a cooperative you will be organizing.

Even before coop is set up, a dedicated core group of people will do all the organizational and paper works is a must. From this core group, working commodities may be formed to set things moving. These committees may include membership, finance, executives, secretariat to name a few.

Second, prepare a general statement called an economic survey. This statement will help you measure your cooperatives chances of success.

Third, draft the cooperatives by-laws. The by-laws contain the rules and regulation governing the operation of the cooperative.

Fourth, draft the articles of cooperation. Here you indicate the name of the cooperative, its members, terms of existence and other pertinent description about your cooperative.

Fifth, secure bond of your accountable officers, normally the treasurer, or the treasurer and the manager. The amount of the bond is to be decided upon by the Board of Directors, based on the initial network of the cooperatives which includes the paid-up capital, membership fees and other assets of the cooperatives at time of registration.

Sixth, register your cooperative with the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA), you must submit four copies each of the Economic Survey, By- Laws , and Articles of Cooperation and Bond of Accountable Officer(s).

In every step, you may consult the CDA. The CDA emphasizes education as a key to the success of cooperatives.


Who May Become Members of a Primary Cooperative?

If you are a Filipino of legal age, you can be a coop member if you meet the qualifications prescribed by the coop's by laws.

The board of directors act on application for membership.

A member may exercise his rights only after having paid the fees for membership and acquired shares in the cooperative,


What are the Kinds of Membership in the Cooperative?

A cooperative has two kinds of members; regular members and associate members.

A regular member is entitled to all the rights and privileged of membership as stated in the Cooperative Code and the coops by- laws.

An associate member has no right to vote and to be voted upon and is entitled to such rights and privileged provided by the cooperatives by laws.


What is the Minimum Number of Members in a Cooperative?

Fifteen (15) natural persons of legal age who are citizens of the Philippines.


Can Government Officers and Employees Join a Cooperative?

Yes, provided that:
Any officer of the government of the CDA shall be disqualified to be elected or appointed to any position in a cooperative;
Elected officials of the government, except barangay officials, shall be ineligible to become officers and directors of cooperatives; and
Any government employee may, in the discharge of his duties as member in the cooperative, use official time provided that the operations of the office where he works are not adversely affected.

What is an Economic Survey?

An economic survey is a general statement describing the structure, purpose, economic feasibility of the proposed cooperative, area of operation, size of membership and other pertinent data. It, in fact a project feasibility study. The structure describes the kind of cooperative being set, up whether it is primary, secondary or tertiary and whether it is a credit, consumer transport or any other type of coop.

The purpose defines the primary, secondary and other objectives of the cooperative. The area of operation merely indicates the general merely indicates the geographical or sectoral of the coop. For example, a cooperative may operate in, say Caloocan City; or it may operate in a certain sector like farmers. Size of membership is important so as to set limits to the coop's scope of operation. This is closely related to cooperative structure.