Transformation for 31 Years
RAY Elevazo, executive director of the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA), is a very busy man, but it isn’t evident in the way he takes time out to explain matters patiently and thoroughly to the uninitiated; perhaps, it is his industry and equanimity that have kept him sprightly and steadfast in the years that The Manila Times has interviewed him about the CDA’s programs and timelines.
“Unang-una, gusto kong sabihin ang aming mga (First of all, I want to mention our) activities for our simple celebration of the CDA 31st anniversary,” the executive director says with generous smiles.
With the 2021 theme, “Trailblazing transformative cooperatives against poverty, inequities and social justice,” the CDA begins with an austere ceremony on Monday, March 8, inviting a few cooperatives for a “mini trade fair” to showcase its products at the national headquarters in Cubao, Quezon City “to keep the spirit alive” while following strict health protocols.
Elevazo explains how the transformative movement of cooperativism marches on, saying, “We don’t want our tempo to be dictated by Covid-19. Nagre-resist tayo (We resist).”
It is this irresistible movement that breaks ground for the new, 15-story CDA Tower with the initial seven stories of the building to rise at the crossroads of Aurora Boulevard and E. Rodriguez Avenue after over three decades.
On Thursday, March 11, the celebration continues with the “Gawad ng Natatanging Kawani” awarding ceremony, wherein the accomplishments and efforts of a selection of CDA personnel from the regional offices are rewarded in the supervisory and technical as well as the clerical and administrative categories.
The austere festivities are then capped off with a reunion of sorts via a virtual general assembly, led by the executive director himself along with the CDA chairman, board members and officials.
For the rest of the 31st anniversary, reveals Elevazo, the CDA also builds the National Alliance of Cooperatives (NAC) as one of its consultative bodies, following the approved implementing rules and regulations on organization. For the first few months, the CDA focuses on the election of officers for the most basic foundation of the NAC, known as regional clustered organizations, as well as for the national level of the NAC, known as sectoral apex organizations.
“Ang consultative body na bini-build o ino-organize ng Cooperative Development Authority…iyon itong isang pagtutuunan namin ng pansin ngayon na maiayos ang istraktura nang sa ganoon mapalitaw natin ‘yung iba’t ibang issues and concerns na kailangan ng policy response ng ating CDA board (We are focusing on the structure of the consultative body that the Cooperative Development Authority is building or organizing to float the issues and concerns that require policy response from the CDA board),” discloses Elevazo.
It then becomes evident that this responsiveness to the needs and aspirations of members and even nonmember communities is the key to the CDA’s transformative movement, which has helped build lives and futures for more than three decades.