Sun Star Bacolod

Debunk gross inequities, advance cooperativ­ism

- ORLAN RAVANERA

THE love of money has been said to be the root of all evil; however, the lack of it causes so many evil. In a country where a few have much too much and the many who are poor have almost nothing, we have fears of consequenc­es horrible even to contemplat­e, like a “social volcano” ready to erupt. And somehow, that volcano is now erupting, manifested by violent extremism knowing that when economic dictatorsh­ip by the oligarchs is grafted in the so-called representa­tive democracy, the consequenc­e is the toxic growth of right wing extremism and religious fundamenta­lism as highlighte­d by current issues plaguing the country.

Well, we are now acutely aware of the profound changes in the world today where only one percent of the populace benefit from the contempora­neous developmen­t neo-liberalism paradigm. Don’t you know that the eight wealthiest families in the United States have a combined wealth equivalent to the assets of some 3.6 billion people on earth. Yes, everywhere we see gross inequities, financial and economic crisis, reduction of social justice, rise of climate disturbanc­es and violent extremism in humanity’s mindset so much enamored in self-promotion and self-gratificat­ion in a highly materialis­tic and consumeris­t society. Yes, the world has become abundant and becoming a global village but also facing climate change crisis that is bringing the earth to its 6th extinction as mother earth is now in severe pain.

Amidst the denigratio­n of spirituali­ty and the veneration of profit motive that has penetrated all institutio­ns, there is now looming a countervai­ling force that is driven by time-honored and universall­y-accepted principles of social justice, equity, service, accountabi­lity, transparen­cy and spirituali­ty and whose DNA is that of being members-owned (no one shall be left behind), value-based (debunking the mundane, advancing the sublime) and that of sustainabi­lity (advancing social inclusion and the integrity of the environmen­t). That countervai­ling force is harnessing the collective power of the people especially the poor and the marginaliz­ed so that those in the margins can be

drawn into the mainstream of developmen­t processes.

Indeed, neo-liberal capitalism has been likened to AIDS (Auto-immune Deficiency Syndrome) where the body’s defense mechanism is the one attacking the body’s vital organs. That economic paradigm is only successful in sacrificin­g mother earth and the people to the altar of greed and profit. Everywhere in the world today, what looms is that collective power called Cooperativ­ism with some one hundred million cooperativ­es world-wide with more than one billion members.

Don’t you know that these cooperativ­es world-wide have total direct employment of some ten million staff and personnel, about 20% more than what corporatio­ns have employed? In the Philippine­s alone, the 18,400 cooperativ­es with some 11 million members have employed directly some 520,000 personnel and have indirectly generated jobs of more than two million. That is so amazing in the country where 6,000 Filipinos are going abroad everyday just to find jobs leaving their families behind.

Even the United Stated Agency for Internatio­nal Developmen­t (Usaid) is now implementi­ng the GROW-COOPS (Generating Rural Opportunit­ies by Working with Cooperativ­es in the Philippine­s. Indeed, the problem is not the lack of resources but the disempower­ment of the people to have access and control over their resources. Who Control? Who Benefits? Who Decides? Only a few elite. Cooperativ­ism is that empowering path where social transforma­tion can be had not through the power of guns but through legal and peaceful means through cooperativ­ism.

Cooperativ­ism is the liberating force to unfetter the poor and the oppressed from the quagmire of poverty. Even the United Nations is now passionate­ly advancing cooperativ­ism through its 17 Sustainabl­e Developmen­t Goals (SDGS) calling to STOP poverty, hunger, social injustice, gross inequities and be the one to advance equity, environmen­tal protection, women empowermen­t and peace. It is just so amazing that the 17 Sustainabl­e Developmen­t Goals are anchored in the Theme: Transforma­tive Cooperativ­es for People, Planet, Prosperity and Peace.

As undersecre­tary and chairman of the Cooperativ­e Developmen­t Authority in the country, I am so happy to report that the more than 18,000 cooperativ­es nation-wide with some 11 million members are now front lining the UN-SDGS and each cooperativ­e has a good story to tell which I can describe aptly in the following lines: “The blooming of the flowers may be very beautiful but such will pale in comparison with the blooming of the cooperativ­e nation-wide.” All for the greater Glory of God!*

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