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VCF 06 May 2008 |
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I was back in Cebu for
a flying visit over the weekend, to speak for the President at the 10th
Annual General Assembly of the Visayas Cooperative Central Fund
Federation or VCF. It was raining in Mactan, as we went our way to the Plantation Bay Resort and Spa where the meeting was held. As the oversight official for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise, I often represent the President in VCF and similar assemblies. Their theme, "A decade of service, trust and cooperation," aptly describes the strong spirit of voluntarism and cohesion among the members of VCF, which is a key player in the microenterprise development of the country. At present, VCF has 76 member-investors located at the Western, Central and Eastern Visayas, and in 10 years, it has provided a total of R526.9 million loans to over 150 cooperatives, benefiting 300,000 members and around 1 million borrowers. VCF operates in two ways – the Capital Generation in which the mobilization of funds from coops are placed in the Federation in the form of equity investments and deposits, and the Loan Servicing which helps the coops raise their financial viability and stimulate production and entrepreneurial activities at the coop level. Various programs are currently being offered by VCF – the Coop Operations Program for Enhancement (COPE); Microfinance Program; Business Enterprise Support for Total Entrepreneurship (BESTEP) Program, Livelihood Development Program for OFWs (LDPO) and Coop Housing Equity Financing Program. Some notable innovative programs are being undertaken like the coop ATM, the linkages with the Philippine Development Assistance Program (PDAP), and the connection being established with the OFW community in Singapore that resulted in cementing ties with two of its biggest cooperatives. Another significant project is the Persons with Disabilities in Entrepreneurship or PWDE, which highly shows that VCF supports the national effort to provide our PWDs with bigger opportunities to increase their self-worth and improve their incomes. Microfinance, the main line of VCF, is a cornerstone of our fight against poverty. Microenterprise has the greatest potential to create new jobs, especially for those who have few skills for office or industrial work, and microlending strengthens the capacity of marginalized groups to engage in productive enterprises. The development of micro, small and medium scale enterprises has been rising steadily in the Visayas, with microenterprises showing the biggest growth. From 2004 to 2007, almost 380,000 new jobs were generated in the Visayas region by microenterprises. From January to February of this year, R332.57 Million was released to 9,955 active microfinance clients in Central Visayas, generating 8,424 new jobs. A major part of these achievements came from the microlending activities of the VCF and its member cooperatives. Cooperatives are considered as major players in organizing the marginalized into strong groups that can have better access to the basic services of the government – jobs, food on the table, education for the children and basic health services. And VCF is showing the best way to do this. It is always an honor and privilege to represent the President before the emerging entrepreneurial class. It was doubly so on this occasion, because the re-elected chairman of VCF is our Presidential Management Staff (PMS) Regional Field Unit head for Region 8, Evelyn Clarin. Surely another demonstration of PMS leadership. |
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