Former Senate President Manny Villar and Senator Cynthia Villar led the awarding of 16 cooperatives nationwide during the virtual and face-to-face ceremony on December 17.
The Villar SIPAG (Social Institute for Poverty Alleviation and Governance) intends to acknowledge cooperatives from different parts of the country which served as encouragement and inspiration for others to embark on social integration and job creation.
This, in turn, helps alleviate the living conditions of Filipinos and eventually contributes to economic growth.
Each of the 15 awardees received P250, 000 in cash from Villar SIPAG. A special award was also given to a cooperative which got P150,000 cash.
“Through this recognition, we hope to inspire and encourage cooperatives to continue with their work to uplift the lives of their communities,” Sen. Cynthia Villar, director of Villar SIPAG, said.
There were 247 entries this year and the number was shortlisted to 58. Twenty-three entries were declared semifinalists.
Fifteen organizations were named “Outstanding Partners” in this year’s Villar SIPAG Awards on Poverty Reduction and one was cited with special recognition for environmental protection. Among the 15 outstanding coops, 13 have savings and loans services, and two coops provide employment and job opportunities for their members.
The lack of access to financing has long been a hindrance to the development of the country’s agriculture and MSME sectors which is made more pronounced during the time of the pandemic.
These cooperatives made farmers, teachers, indigenous people, farmworkers, and agrarian reform beneficiaries, become financially included by providing a wide range of financial services to them.
These coops promote financial literacy by encouraging their members to save money; send or receive remittance, income, and benefits; and make day-to-day payments, secure MSME loans, and insurance, with them. The incidence of borrowing in the country has been mostly from the informal sources.