“That’s why we’re not fake,” Oclarit said in response to allegations that most of electric cooperatives are actually operating not as “genuine cooperatives.”

Oclarit is one of the legal counsels for the Misamis Oriental Rural Electric Service Cooperative in Laguindingan town, Misamis Oriental.

He said once the electric cooperatives register with the CDA, it would practically become as stock organization.

“And if we become as stock cooperative, our rural electrification projects would be stopped. We cannot anymore help the rural areas to be energized. We already exist 40 years ago, and this is our program to energize even those areas that are not viable,” he said.

Running well
Out of 119 electric cooperatives, only 12 registered with the CDA. “But most of them went bankrupted,” Oclarit said. He said electric cooperatives are “running well,” and do not need the supervision of the cooperative agency.

“If we become as stock cooperative, maybe only five people control certain electric cooperative,” he warned.

The lawyer even said electric cooperatives branded as “fake” are earning that it can even finance its rural energization programs.

Tax exemption and dividends
According to the CDA, electric cooperatives are tax exempt if registered with the cooperative department. But according to Oclarit, it would be more advantageous for the power providers to stay under the umbrella of the NEA.

“Electric cooperatives are taxed up to one percent only and we give return of investment (ROI) in the form of dividends to the members from eight to 12 percent. What if these dividends are used to energize the rural areas, it would be more advantageous to the government. Even President Benigno Aquino supports the rural electrification programs of these electric cooperatives,” he said.

As non-stock non-profit organization, electric cooperatives are giving ROIs to its concessionaires in the form of “patronage credit.”

“We’re not looking at returning the investments of the consumers… we are concentrating on our rural electrification programs. We need to give priorities to the people first before dividends,” he said.

QUEZON CITY, Feb. 16 (PIA) – More electric cooperatives nationwide are already registering their respective cooperatives with the Cooperatives Development Agency (CDA). This was announced Tuesday by Orlando R. Ravanera, acting Executive Director of CDA at the program Talking Points.

There are 119 known electric cooperatives in the country with a combined asset worth P300 billion, and with more than nine (9) million household members according to Ravanera. Only 12 electric cooperatives, however, are registered with the CDA.

Ravanera stated in a phone interview that their agency is expecting an influx of about 20 to 30 more electric cooperatives to register within the year.

He said that recently, the Agusan Del Norte Electric Cooperative (ANECO) registered with the CDA heeding the call of its 135,000 members to “live up to its name of being a real cooperative.”

Cooperatives registered under CDA enjoy exemption from both local and national imposed taxes, e.g., value-added tax and real property tax as mandated by R.A. 9520 and the Philippine Cooperative Code of 2008.

This privilege would then allow registered electric cooperatives to charge lower power rates to its members. Moreover, the members will also be able to enjoy the benefits from the earnings of their respective cooperatives.

“The Davao del Norte Elec. Cooperative Board of Directors wrote a letter to our office, saying, ‘Director Ravanera we also would like now to transform ourselves into cooperative,’” Ravanera added. “It’s like domino effect now.”

The 12 electric cooperatives currently registered at CDA includes Abra Electric Cooperative (ABRECO), Isabela II Electric Cooperative (ISELCO II), Negros Occidental Electric Cooperative (NOCECO), Negros Oriental 2 Electric Cooperative, Nueva Vizcaya Electric Cooperative (NUVELCO), Palawan Electric Cooperative (PALECO), Pangasinan I Electric Cooperative (PANELCO I), Pangasinan III Electric Cooperative (PANELCO III), Quirino Electric Cooperative (QUIRELCO), San Jose City Electric Cooperative (SAJELCO), Sorsogon II Electric Cooperative, Zambales II Electric Cooperative (ZAMECO II).

CDA will be organizing the National Show of Co-operative Force (NSCF) on February 18 in Quezon City as part of the UN declaration of 2012 being the International Year of Cooperatives. This event aims to gather cooperative members from all over the country and promote public awareness about cooperatives and their contributions to the poor.

CDA is the regulating government agency task to supervise the operation of the 20,000 registered cooperatives in the country. (PAE/PIA-GHQ)

The rates of electric cooperatives registered with the Cooperative Development Authority will go down by P0.25 to P0.40 per kilowatthour, the party list APEC said Monday.

The Expanded Value Added Tax and local taxes would be waived for cooperatives that will sign up with the CDA, Luis Manuel Corral, APEC secretary general, told reporters in an interview.

Under Section 4, Article 132, of Republic Act 9520 or The New Cooperative Code of the Philippines, electric cooperatives registered with the CDA are also entitled to “congressional allocations, grants, subsidies and other financial assistance for rural electrification, which can be coursed through the Department of Energy, the authority or local government units,” the APEC said.

Corral said that despite the incentives, only 11 of 119 electric cooperatives in the country are CDA members. The non-members fall under the jurisdiction of the National Electrification Administration, he said.

The 11 cooperatives that have 1.2 million member consumers include the Negros Occidental Electric Cooperatives, Palawan Electric Cooperative, Pangasinan Electric Cooperatives 1 and 2, Nueva Vizcaya Electric Cooperative, Negro Oriental Electric Cooperative, Abra Electric Cooperative, Isabela Electric Cooperative, Sorsogon Electric Cooperative, and Quirino Electric Cooperative.

There has been an “intimidation, misinformation” and “miseducation” of electric cooperatives, with the NEA warning utilities that once they sign up with the CDA, they will no longer be allowed to borrow funds from the government agency, Coral alleged.

Judith Alferez, head of NEA public affairs office, however, said that the NEA has not kept electric cooperatives from signing up with CDA. “They can see and they know the benefits of staying with NEA,” Alferez said.

Electric cooperatives that will transfer to CDA will have to settle all obligations, without the chance of the loans condoned by the National Power Corp., said a NEA official who asked not to be named.

Still, Corral said that once a cooperative becomes a members of the CDA it can borrow directly from local banks and be given flexible terms.

“We’re operating at a privatized climate but electric cooperatives are still under a feudal system. We at APEC don’t call for the abolishment of the NEA. [Rather, it should] evolve into a technical and financial agency,” Corral said.

Electric cooperatives should be given to the members “so they can be more accountable, more transparent” in operating the utility, he added. —VS, GMANews.TV

Ating Koop Party List Representative Isidro Lico said this during the Regional Cooperative Month celebration hosted by the province through the Provincial Cooperative Development Council and in partnership with the Regional Cooperative Development Council held at the Benguet State University (BSU) Gymnasium last week.

According to Lico, registration of electric cooperatives to Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) as stock cooperative is one of their primary advocacies as it has many advantages that would benefit the member consumers and the electric cooperative itself.

Firstly, Lico stressed that CDA registered cooperatives are exempted of the 12 percent government Value Added Tax (VAT) which would eventually result to the reduction of electric rates for the consumers.

Lico also stressed that conversion of electric cooperatives into stock coop would also give recognition to consumers as co-owner of the cooperative. In the present set-up, consumers are not considered as such because there is no record of ownership and how much the consumers are contributing.

“When an electric coop registers with the CDA, every contribution of the consumers will be considered as their capital share, which could also earn corresponding dividends,” Lico said.

In addition, Lico emphaisized that this would also strengthen the electric cooperatives because the consumers as co-owners or share holders would seriously help protect the electric cooperatives from systems loss.

He also discounted the concern that once an electric coop convert to a stock cooperative it will no longer be supported by the National Electrification Administration (NEA). “Such concern is not true, NEA, under the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA), is mandated to support all electric cooperatives, even if they become a stock cooperative”, Lico said.

Meantime, CDA-CAR Sr. Coop Development and designated Information Officer Martin Manodon also affirmed that pushing for the conversion of electric cooperatives to stock cooperative is also one of their main advocacies as this would further strengthen the coop movement in the country.

Manodon also stressed that they are set to establish a cooperative advisory council.

According to Manodon, for Cordillera the Abra Electric Cooperative (ABRECO) has already registered with the CDA as a stock cooperative. (SCA LD/PIA CAR)

taka ra man ka oi, congressman daganan jdr. hahaha.

Points to Ponder:
1. Notwithstanding from the “blah blah” unexperienced pro CDA speakers, it is worthy to note one Rep. Payuyo a former PALECO GM who proudly divulged a P60T dividends and patronage refund to a “SINGLE-BIGGEST CUSTOMER”! Wow, so this means under the CDA, the bigger a person money invested for the coop, the more it returns. So now, which is more pro-poor, under CDA which is capital capacity based or the existing under NEA which is FAIR AND EQUAL FOR ALL? Also, it is very interesting that Rep. Payuyo DID NOT divulged HOW MUCH is the present EFFECTIVE POWER RATE of PALECO under CDA. Ngano kaha?

2. Take a clear understanding of i-Care Rep. Rivera the former Board President of BATELCO II and ANTI-CDA, are we not going to learn their experience from the DOWNFALL of BATELCO II under the CDA but was eventually recovered back in their effort of RETURN UNDER NEA?

3. How about the last speaker ANTI-CDA Alan Lanniva? Are we going to rely the ‘self-assumed expertise’ of CDA movers like JDR than this person-Lanniva’s field of depth and masteral understanding on electric power industry in the Philippines?

4. And where is Pet Ilagan of NASECORE, JDR’s mentor? Focus closely of his statement in the last part of this article? IS IT REALLY CONVINCING to have our present BILECO under NEA to be converted under CDA?

NOW DO YOU HAVE FRIENDS AND RELATIVES living in Southern Leyte who are also actively concern of elec coop? Ask them now about their gained information, experience and decision?

Uy dili pod maayo kung mao diay kana, pero aduna ako kaila diha sa belico ako gipangutana sab bahin niana kay lagi mao man sab na ang storya sa uban, pero dili man tinuod kay nakita man gani nako ang iya power bill, WALA man ko nakita diskwento. mihangyo sab ko makakita ug bill sa ilang opisyal dha ug board, naay ako nakita duha, mao man gihapon, WALA man diskwento sumala sa imong gilakbit denhi!

Uy kung may ebendensiya ka nianang diskwento man kaha niini nilang taga belico, ipostar daw denhi bi kay aron maoy atong tirahon!

Pro tingali baya ug hearsay ra pod na ug walay kapasikaran ug ebendensiya, aw ayaw lang lagi ta niana kay lagi lisod na modawat ta ug storya nga walay basehanan, tingali baya ug misaway ta sa uban kay walay ikapakita ebedensiya pro kita ra sab ang moestorya nga walay “resibo” kung sa mga bugoy pa!