COOPERATIVE PHILISOPHY: AN IDEA WHOSE TIME HAS

COME Posted on January 13, 2021 Kim’s Dream Orlando

R. Ravanera It has been said that “a strong army can
conquer a kingdom but that the strongest army in the
world cannot stop an idea whose time has come!” That
idea, that Philsophy, is cooperativism. Why? Such truism
will be well understood if seen if this context. In a world
so enamored in self-promotion, surface appearances and
busy with trivialities and where there is so much
veneration to the profit motive that has already captured
the mindset of all governments, all institutions, all
universities and even of religious groups and where there
is so much denigration of spirituality, the countervailing
force against so much materialism and consumerism is a
philosophy called cooperativism. Indeed, the
cooperatives may not have the financial power nor
influential people but their biggest asset lies in the
treasure of their basic thought to effect social
transformation. This is the truism why the framers of the
1987 Constitution categorically provided for an amazing
provision as stated in Art. 12, Sec. 15 that states, “to
promote the viability and growth of cooperatives as
instruments of social justice, equity and economic
development.” Well, it was then the time of people
power and the constitutional framers wanted to
institutionalized people power by harnessing the
collective power of the people through cooperativism. It
was then the time of cronyism where only 50 families
were in control of the economy. It was then their
conclusion that harnessing people should not only be
against the dictatorial rule but to transform a highly
skewed societal order controlled by a few elites and
oligarchs in a country that is oozing with ecological
wealth but where many were living then in so much
poverty. It was only by collectively harnessing people
power where power is put where it rightfully belongs: to
the Filipino people in consonance with the Constitutional
provision that “sovereignty lies with the people and all
powers emanate from them.” It is only through people
power that social wrongs can be rectified especially in
the existence of so-called electric cooperatives which are
only cooperatives in name as decided by a 2003 Supreme
Court landmark decision. Where is social justice in the
life of the so-called electric cooperatives where the 13
million members are called MCOs (member-consumer-
owners) because they already contributed more than
one trillion pesos in the last 50 years in paying two items
in their monthly billings, i.e., amortization of loans and
reinvestment yet such until now have never been
recognized. Hoy, gumising na kayo! Look at our country,
an agriculture country yet we cannot even produce for
our basic staples like rice and milk while the Philippines is
the one supplying agricultural high value products to
satisfy the consumerist lifestyle of the obese people in
advanced countries. That is a great paradox in a country
where 85% of the children fall under the category of
being malnourished based on the data of the Food &
Nutrition Institute. It is in this context that three
questions should now be asked: WHO CONTROLS? WHO
PROFITS? WHO BENEFITS? That is “res ipsa loquitor,”
(the thing speaks for itself). Where is now the 17 million
hectares of the Philippines’ dipterocarp forest? Gone to
powerful loggers everyone because one shipment of logs
would earn a logger then 400 million pesos. They were
oozing with so much rakings that they would run as
powerful politicians and would win by buying votes,
Where are now the tremendous minerals, i.e., gold,
silver, copper, etc.? Gone to miners everyone. Many
were then foreign corporations in cohorts with power-
that-be. I have evidence on that allegation. Indeed, we
already have lost our ecological security. Of the 25 major
rivers in the country, 15 have already dried-up or
polluted. Of the 13 major bays, 10 are already
biologically dead to the detriment of our coastal
communities who are now the poorest of the poor.
Based on these realities, the only countervailing force
against poverty, social injustice, gross inequities, climate
change and violent extremism is cooperativism by
harnessing the collective power of the people. This is
well enshrined in the United Nations’17 Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs): to stop poverty, stop social
inequities and injustices, protect the environment.,
promote health and peace, etc. It is so amazing that the
17 SDGs carry the theme: TRANSFORMATIVE
COOPERATIVES FOR PEOPLE, PLANET, PROSPERITY AND
PEACE based on the DNA of cooperativism which is
members-owned (no one shall be left behind); value-
based and philosophy driven (love, service, compassion);
and sustainability. At this time of planetary emergency
due to climate change, sustainability is now the call of
the times to stop the earth’s doomsday to its 6th
extinction. That Philosophy of cooperativism is the key to
allow the divine purpose of the university to unfold!
That’s how important cooperatives are!
Quiilbot
COOPERATIVE PHILOSOPHY: AN Concept WITH A FUTURE
Posted on the 13th of January, 2021 Kim's Fantasy
Ravanera, Orlando R. “A strong army will conquer a
kingdom, but the world's strongest army cannot stop an
idea whose time has come!” it has been said.
Cooperativism is the philosophy behind the theory. Why
is that? When viewed in this sense, such a truism can be
easily understood. In a world enamored of self-
promotion, superficial appearances, and trivialities, and
where the profit motive has already seized the mentality
of all governments, institutions, universities, and even
religious organizations, and where spirituality is
denigrated, the co-creation of the co-creation of the co-
creation of the co-creation of the co-creation of the co-
creation of the co-creation of the co-creation of the co-
creation. A ideology known as cooperativism serves as a
counterweight to too much materialism and
consumerism. Cooperatives can lack financial power and
powerful individuals, but their greatest asset is the
treasure of their basic thinking, which can be used to
affect social change. . This is why, as specified in Art. 12,
Sec. 15, the framers of the 1987 Constitution
categorically provided for an impressive clause, “to foster
the viability and growth of cooperatives as instruments
of social justice, equality, and economic development.” It
was the age of people power, and the framers of the
Constitution decided to institutionalize it by harnessing
the people's collective power through cooperativism. It
was a period of cronyism, when the economy was
controlled by just 50 families. They came to the
conclusion that harnessing people was important not
only to resist dictatorial rule but also to change a deeply
distorted social order dominated by a few elites and
oligarchs in a world awash in ecological wealth but where
many people were living in abject poverty at the time.
Only by collectively harnessing people power was power
returned to the Filipino people, in accordance with the
Constitutional provision that "sovereignty rests with the
people and all powers emanate from them." Only by the
power of the people can social injustices be corrected,
particularly given the existence of so-called electric
cooperatives that are nothing more than cooperatives.
Where is social justice in the lives of the so-called electric
cooperatives, whose 13 million members are referred to
as MCOs (member-consumer-owners) because they have
contributed more than one trillion pesos in the last 50
years in paying two things in their monthly billings,
namely, loan amortization and reinvestment, which have
never been acknowledged until now. Gumising na kayo
ayon! Consider our country, which is an agricultural
country, but we can't even produce basic staples like rice
and milk, while the Philippines is the one supplying
agricultural high-value goods to satisfy the consumerist
lifestyles of obese people in advanced countries. In a
world where 85 percent of children are malnourished,
this is a huge contradiction