The Philippine World Beauty Festival

THE PRESIDENT

DR. VIRGINIA ALON TEODOSIO
Professor / Political Economist

For good reasons, the Philippine World Beauty Festival, Inc. is happy to have Dr. Virginia A. Teodosio in navigating the course of the pilot launch of the World Festival Queen international beauty pageant in the Philippines. As president, Dr. Teodosio provides the leadership of the PWBF Inc.

Professor Virginia A. Teodosio is a Ph.D. graduate in Political Economy at the University of Sydney in Australia. She was a scholar for five years under the University of Sydney Graduate Studies Program. Her expertise include cooperatives, gender studies, incomes policy, social and political theories, industrial relations and human resource management theories. Aside from being the Founding President of PWBF Inc., Dr. Teodosio was also the Founding Director of the Philippine Cooperative Center ( 1996) and Founding Chairperson of the University of the Philippines Employees Housing Cooperative ( 1990). Currently, she is a Professor of Industrial Relations at the University of the Philippines School of Labor and Industrial Relations. She was once a professorial lecturer at the Department of Economics at the Ateneo de Manila University and at the then Maryknoll College.

Dr. Teodosio is a member of the United Nations Expert Group on Cooperatives representing Asia with India which met in New York in April 2009. She co-wrote a book on Cooperatives, Social Capital and the Shaping of State Transformation in 2008 with a research fellowship given by the UNESCO Paris Participation Research Programme. Other fellowships and scholarships include: Trade and Gender, E-Learning Course, The World Bank Institute in Washington D.C. USA (Jan. 28 to Feb. 15, 2008); Gender, Economic Development and Poverty Reduction, E-Learning Course, The World Bank Institute in Washington D.C. USA (April 4 to 30, 2007); Alumni Award for Achievement at the University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia (1992); Visiting Research Associate, School of Economics at the University of the Philippines, Quezon City, Philippines (April 1985 to March 1996); recipient of the Frank Coaldrake Traveling Scholarship by the University of Sydney (1985); Fellow, International Development Research Center (Canada) and East-West Population Institute (USA) Conference on Asian Labor Migration to the Middle East in Honolulu, Hawaii USA (Sept. 19-23, 1983); Fellow, International Labor Organization First Regional Course for Trainers in Labor Administration in Turin, Italy (Sept. 29 to November 7, 1980).

Dr. Teodosio has represented the Philippines in 22 countries to name a few: “Why Women? What Politics? The Power of the Women Electorate” in Taipei, ROC (Sept. 1997); The Power of the Women Electorate Third Congress” in Fiji, Japan (Nov. 1996); “The City Summit, Second National Conference in Human Settlements” in Istanibul, Turkey (June 1996); “International Industrial Relations Association 10th World Congress” in Washington D.C., USA (June 1995); “Industrial Relations and Human Resource Development” in Tokyo, Japan (Sept. 1994); Study visit at the Osaka University Faculty of Economics and Law, Osaka, Japan (June 1993); Study visit sponsored by the World Federation of Trade Unions in Moscow and Kiev, USSR and in Prague, Czechoslovakia (June 1989); study visit sponsored by Friedrich Elbert Stiftung in Bonn, Stuttgart, and Dusseldorf, West Germany (July 1989); study visit at the Office of the National Association of Local Government in London, UK (July 1989); and study visit in Ruskin College at Oxford University in Oxford, UK (July 1989).

Dr. Teodosio is a proponent of wellness, beauty and organic products. She shares the view that beauty pageants should contribute to achieving concrete and sustainable results as well as structural impacts, where appropriate, in the cultural field as well as help create new cultural industries. On 27 August 2009, she presented a paper on The Working Class and Clean Energy at Sydney, Australia.

VIRGINIA A. TEODOSIO, Ph.D. (Professor, UP SOLAIR and former Administrator,

CURRICULUM VITAE
VIRGINIA A. TEODOSIO, Ph.D.

(Professor, UP SOLAIR and former Administrator,
Cooperative Development Authority Administrator
July 2000-January 2005)


Consultant, National Biofuels Board, Department of Energy on Cooperatives,
Poverty Reduction, Energy Security and Climate Change
Adviser, Buklod Filipina, Party List
Adviser, Advocacy of Women for an Alternative Industrial Relations


Office Address: UP School of Labor and Industrial Relations
Diliman, Quezon City

Telephone No./Fax: (+632) 9278340 / (+632) 9207717


A. ACADEMIC BACKGROUND

POST GRADUATE: Ph.D. in Economics (Political Economy)
The University of Sydney
New South Wales Australia (1983-1988)

EXPERTISE: Cooperatives, Gender Studies, Incomes Policy, Social and Political
Theories, Industrial Relations and Human Resource Management
Theories/ Practices.

THESIS TITLE: Tripartism and Imperatives of Development: The Case of the Philippines with Special Reference to Wages, Policy, 1974-1985. Electronic copy with the University of California, San Diego, USA.



B. TRAINING/ FELLOWSHIP

UNESCO Paris Participation Research Programme on Cooperatives and Social Capital, Oct 2007 to September 2008.

Trade and Gender, E-Learning Course, The World Bank Institute Washington, D.C. 28 January
2008-15 February 2008

Gender, Economic Development and Poverty Reduction, E-Learning Course, The World Bank Institute, Washington, D.C. 4-30 April 2007.

Alumni Award for Achievement, International House, The University of Sydney, NSW, Australia, 1992.

Visiting Research Associate, School of Economics, University of the Philippines (U.P.) April 1985-March 1996.

Frank Coaldrake Traveling Scholarship By University of Sydney, 1985.

The Rotary Club of Blacktown City, NSW, Bursary, Recipient, 1984.

The University of Sydney Postgraduate Research Award Scholarship for Ph.D. in Economics, February 1983-August 1987.

Fellow, International Development Research Center ( Canada) and East-West Population Institute (USA) Conference on Asian Labor Migration to the Middle East, September 19-23, 1983 Honolulu, USA.

Fellow, International Labor Organization (ILO) First-Regional Course for Trainer's in Labour Administration, Turin Centre, A Regional Workshop/Conference Sponsored by the ILO. Turin Italy, 29 September - 7 November 1980.


B. EMPLOYMENT RECORD IN HIGHER EDUCATION

Associate Professor (1993-2005) University of the Philippines, School of Labor and Industrial Relations

Assistant Professor (1988-1992) University of the Philippines, School of Labor and Industrial
Relations

Professorial Lecturer (1998-1991) on Economics, Social and Political Thought, UP Department of Political Science

Professorial Lecturer on the History of Economic Thought, Ateneo de Manila, University Quezon City (First Semester, 1991)

Senior Lecturer, Part-time, Maryknoll College, Handled Microeconomics (1982)


C. RECENT PUBLICATIONS

Reconfiguring Microfinance and Third Sector Development in the Philippines, http://www.unpan.org/Library/Search

Agricutural Cooperatives and Information Communication Technology in an Emerging Asia
http://www.unpan.org.Library/Search

The Informal Economy, Women and Class, Philippine Journal of Labor and Industrial Relations December 2007.

Women and the World of Work in Asia: Perspectives and Practices, Philippine Journal of Industrial Relations December 2006.

Keeping the Spirit of 1896 Alive: The Cooperative Movement Rising, Philippine Journal of Labor and Industrial Relations 2003.

Chapter Author, Tripartism and the Role of the State in a Period of Restructuring under Globalization, The Filipino Worker in a Global Economy, ed. Leonardo Lanzona, Philippine APEC Study Center Network, Philippine Institute of Development Studies, NEDA, December 2001.





D. PUBLIC SEMINARS

Microfinance and Enterprise Development for the Poor ( including 3 national lectures for DSWD’s 400 field officials)

Reviewing and Evaluating Your Performance Appraisal System

Designing and Implementing Competency Based Interviews

Introducing Pinoy Workers Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurial Competency Training

Revitalizing Labor: Building Financial Independence

Building the Collaborative Organization

Motivating People for Improved Performance

Gaining Competitive Advantage Through Customer Relationship Management

Leading Business Models of Cooperatives and the OD Cycle

Managing a Housing Cooperative Project

Women Rural Enterprise Development and Networking: Understanding the Managerial Process

Current Issues and Strategies in Early Retirement

Terms of Engagement in Navigating Organizational Transformation

Transformational Leadership Competency

Enhancing Good Business Manners ( Social Graces and Personality Development)


E. ADVOCACY ON EMPOWERMENT AND VARIOUS FORMS OF COOPERATIVISM

Head Delegate, Cooperative Study Visit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 27 -30 November 2005

Head Delegate, Cooperative Study Visit in Singapore, 6 -9 November 2005

Head Delegate, Cooperative Visits to Hong Kong and ShenZhen, China, December 1-3, 2004.

Country Representative, Agricultural Cooperatives and Information Communication Technology: Advancing Sustainable Social Entrepreneurship in a Global Economy, April 24, 2004, Changmai, Thailand.

Country Representative, 7th NEDAC General Assembly and Seminar on Information Technology and Computerization of Agricultural Cooperatives, 29 October-1 November 2003, Kathmandu, Nepal.

Country Representative, Development of Business Planning Management Skills for Viable Enterprise Development by Agricultural Cooperatives, 20 -30 April, 2003 New Delhi, Inidia.

Member Delegate, University and Community Consumer Cooperatives, June 24-30,2002, Tokyo

Member Delegate, Study Visit to Cooperatives in Indonesia, 2002, Sponsored by the Cooperative Center of Denmark.

Member Delegate, Study Visit to Cooperatives in South Korea, 2001, Sponsored by the Philippine Cooperative Center.

Country Representative, FAO-NEDAC Round Table Meeting on Capacity Building of Agricultural Cooperatives and NEDAC General Assembly, 24 to 27 September 2001 Beijing China.

Resource Speaker, “Ownership and Empowerment: Mainstreaming Vulnerable and Marginalized Groups”, National Conference On Prosperity Building For the Poor, W. Sycip Policy Center, World Bank and Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, June 25, 2001, AIM Conference Center, Makati City.

Resource Person, “National Consultation Workshop on Energy , Livelihood & Sustainable Development, Department of Energy , May 29-30, 2001, Hotel Intercontinental Manila.

Reactor, “Sustaining Upland Development in Southeast Asia”, Sustainable Agriculture and Natural Resource Management Collaborative Research Program and Philippine Institute of Development Studies, May 30, 2001, ACCEED Conference Center, Makati City.

Resource Person, “Labor, HRD & Globalization”, Philippine Asia Pacific Study Center Network, San Fernando La Union, May 18, 2001 Plenary Speaker on Cooperatives and the Social Economy, University of Barcelona, April 2001.

Country Representative, 8th Meeting of the Asian Centre for the Development of Agriculture Cooperatives (ACEDAC) Board and 3rd Asean Sectoral Working Group of the Agriculture Cooperatives, Bangkok, Thailand March 19-20, 2001.

Country Representative and Elected Vice-Chairman for the NEDAC-FAORAP, ”Roundtable Meeting on Globalization & Liberalization-Challenges and Options for Agriculture Cooperatives, Bangkok, Thailand, January 29- February 2, 2001.

Resource Person, Century Co-ops Conference 27-29 August 1999, Mimosa Leisure Estate, Clark Airfield, Angeles City, Pampanga.

Resource, Winning the War Against Poverty: Doing Business with Cooperatives, UAP Ortigas Center, Pasig City, 4 December 1998.

Resource Person, The Economic Crisis and Its Social Effects, Pacific Asia Network, October 1998, Manila Hotel.

UPEHCO nominated to the 1998 Dubai International Award for Best Practices in Improving the Living Environment by the PAGIBIG Fund, March 1988.

National President, Alliance of Cooperatives, February 1998-2000.

Paper Presentor, Housing Cooperativism, Philippine Cooperative Center, 5 November 1996.

Delegate, National Shelter Conference, Philippine Social Science Center, 9 October 1996.

Delegate, Philippine NGO-PO Representatives to the UN City Summit, May 23 - June 12, Istanbul, Turkey.

Resource Person, Department of Education and Culture's Nationwide Housing Cooperative Campaign (1995-1996).

Resource Person, Student Cooperativism at U.P. (1994).

Consultation Workshop on the Implementing Rules and Regulations of the Comprehensive and Integrated Shelter Finance Act of 1994, Philippine Social Sciences Center, 26 April 1995, Participant.

National Housing Summit, PICC Manila, 27 January 1995, delegate.

Pre-Housing Summit Consultations, Resource Person, November-December 1994.

Nationwide Media Campaign on Cooperatives, Chair (9 October 1994).

UP Employees Housing Cooperative, Inc. (UPEHCO) Chairperson-Pioneered housing cooperatives in 3 sites, Antipolo, Cavite and Iloilo. Nominated by the government for "Best Practices" in the City Summit, Istanbul (1996).


F. BOARD MEMBERSHIP

Founding Chairperson, I Klima International

Director, Women in Shelter and Its Environment (August 1997-July 2000).

Founding Director, Philippine Cooperative Center, 1996

Founding Chairperson, University of the Philippines Employees Housing Cooperative,1990.


G. WORK EXPERIENCE

Director, Center for the Administration of Labor Justice (SOLAIR 1998-1999).

Chairperson, Graduate Studies Program (SOLAIR July 2000).

National Coordinator, Advancing Workers’ Welfare and Participation in Public Employment Relations, (SOLAIR-CSC Joint Project), 1998-July 2000.

Programme Manager, International Organization, June-November 1997. Entrepreneurial Development Support for the Reintegration of Filipino Migrant Workers and Their Families.

Member, Evaluation Team, Asian Pacific Project on Tripartism (APPOT), International Labor Organization(April-May 1996), Hanoi, Bangkok and Phuket.

Chief, Manpower and Development Utilization Division, Institute of Labor and Manpower Studies, Ministry of Labor and Employment (November 1979-1982).

Assistant Division Chief Labor Standards Division, Institute of Labor and Manpower Studies, Ministry of Labor and Employment (September-October 1979).

Part-time Senior Lecturer (1980-1982) in Wages and the Labour Market, Labour and National Economy and Special problems in Manpower Development, UP-School of Economics.

Research Assistant (November 1973-September 1976) to Professor Edita Tan of UP School of Economics in the Following studies:
• Taxation, Government Expenditures and Effects on Income Distribution in the Philippines;
• Interest Rate Policy in the Philippines;
• Media for Skills Formation Programme for Democratization of Admission in the University of the Philippines.






H. PAPER PRESENTATION/PARTICIPATION LOCAL/INTERNATIONAL

3rd Asia Biomass Seminar, Dusit Hotel, 4-9 November 2007, Makati City

Biofuels Development in Southeast and East Asia: Policy Issues and Research Agenda, Renaissance Hotel, 7-8 October 2007, Makati City

Microfinance and Third Sector Development in the Philippines, 5th International Society for Third Sector Research Asia Pacific Regional Conference, UP NCPAG, 17-18 October 2007.

Agricultural Cooperatives and ICT in an Emerging Asia, Living the Information Society: The Impact of Information and Communication Technologies on People, Work and Communities in Asia, Renaissance Hotel, 23-24 April 2007.

Gains, Losses and Prospects of the Philippine Commitments to the GATS, UP Third World Studies Center, 2 September 2005.

Technical Assistance of POS and Wireless Broadband Internet to Cooperatives, 15 to 17 March 2004, Tianjin, China, Global Magnetic Card, Company.

Guest Speaker, Reintegration of OFWs and Entrepreneurship, February 2004, Hong Kong, Francisco Colayco Foundation Foundation.

Resource Speaker, Ownership and Empowerment: Mainstreaming Vulnerable and Marginalized Groups, National Conference on Prosperity Building for the Poor, W. Sycip Policy Center, World Bank and Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, 25 June 2001, AIM Conference Center, Makati City.

Resource Person, National Consultation Workshop on Energy, Livelihood and Sustainable Development, 29-30 May 2001, Hotel Intercontinental Hotel, Manila.

Reactor, Sustaining Upland Development in Southeast Asia, Sustainable Agriculture and Natural Resource Management Collaborative Research Program and Philippine Institute of Development Studies, 30 May 2001, ACCEED Conference Center, Makati City.

Resource Speaker, Labor, HRD and Globalization, Philippine Asia Pacific Study Center Network, 18 May 2001, San Fernando, La Union.

Plenary Speaker, Private-Public Partnership in the Development of a Housing Cooperative Cooperatives and the Social Economy, April 2001, University of Barcelona, Spain

The State of Philippine Education: Building New Insights and Directions, Youth and Students First Sectoral Council Meeting National Anti-Poverty Commission.

Images of Work: Democracy and Distribution Equity in Philippine Industrial Relations, SOLAIR (24 September 1997).

Human Resource Policies and Practices in Chinese Owned Enterprises, Democratization, Globalization and Transformation of Industrial Relations in Asian Countries, IIRA, 3rd Asian Regional Congress, 30 September-4 October 1996, Taipei.

The UPEHCO Experience, Financing Habitat for the Urban Poor, Asian regional Consultation for Habitat II (12-14 April 1996), Manila Galleria Suites.

Problems and Issues Confronting Filipino Overseas, Osaka University, Faculty of Economics and Law, Japan, 4 November 1993.

Roundtable Conference on Japanese Capital in the Philippines and Filipino Labor in Japan, AIT, Quezon City, 25 July 1992.

State-Civil Society Relations in the Philippines. Paper Presented at the Fourth International Philippines Studies Conference; 1892-1992, Imagining the Nation, Australian National University, Canberra, 30 June-3 July 1992.
The UPEHCO: Towards Self-Reliance and Ecological Balance in Human Settlements in the Philippines. Paper Presented at the 4th Meeting of the Coalition of Housing Finance Institution in Asia and the Pacific, Manila Peninsula, 25-27 January, 1992.

The Crisis of the 1980’s in the Philippines: The Nature of State Interventions on Labor-Capital Relations and Social-Change. Second International Symposium on Society and Economic in East Asia, Osaka University, Faculty of Economics and Law, 31 October-6 November, 1991.

The Prospects of Socialism in the 1990s, Manila, November, 1989. Sponsored by the Journal of Contemporary Asia.

Privatization and Its Impact on Labour Relations in the ASEAN Region, Jakarta Indonesia, December 1988. Sponsored by the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung.

Australian National University, The Politics of Continuity and Change Under the Aquino Government, Canberra Australia February 1988. Sponsored by the Asian Studies Association in Australia.


J. ON WOMEN IN COOPERATIVES

Convenor, First National Summit of Women in Cooperatives, Banaue, Ifugao, 5-7 June 2003.

First Regional Summit of Women in Cooperatives, Region 1, 5-7 October 2004, Cresta del Mar Resort, Bauang La Union.

First Regional Summit of Women in Cooperatives, Region VI, 22-23 September 2004, Casa Pilar, Boracay Island, Malay Aklan.

First Regional Summit of Women in Cooperatives, Region IV, 8-10 September 2004, Legend Hotel, Puerto Princesa, Palawan.

First Regional Summit of Women in Cooperatives, Region XII, 18-19 August 2004, Lake Sebu, Sultan Kudarat.

First Regional Summit of Women in Cooperatives, Region III, 7-8 July 2004, Subic Arts Center, Subic Bay Freeport Zone.

First Regional Summit of Women in Cooperatives, Region XI, 6-7 May 2004, Waterfront Insular Hotel Davao, Lanang, Davao City.

First Regional Summit of Women in Cooperatives, Region V, 24 March 2004, Woodland Beach Resort, Donsol, Sorsogon.

First Regional Summit of Women in Cooperatives, NCR, 26-27 September 2003, SEAMEO Innotech, Commonwealth Avenue, Quezon City.




K. OTHER ADVOCACIES AND ENGAGEMENTS FOR THE COMMON GOOD

Enhancing the Cooperative Sector’s Visibility and the Citizen’s Power to Act.

Facilitated the 100,100 hectare Jatropha plantation in Southern Palawan with the Philippine Agricultural and Commercial Corporation (PADCC) and Byanor, Spain. Investment is worth $US 200 million.

Presidential Appointee, Administrator, Cooperative Development Authority, August 2000 to January 2005.

Facilitated the cassava plantation in the Calamianes Group of Islands, Palawan (1,000 hectares),2004-2005.

Facilitated the abaca rehabilitation in Albay province (196 hectares, 10 million budget), 2003-2004.

Proponent of the CDA-Quedancor Cooperative Lending Program, 38 million pesos, 2003.

Assisted in the facilitation of the 500 million US dollar additional investment of the Canadian mining firm (TVI) in Siocon, Zamboanga del Norte,2002-2003.

Facilitated the lectures of two Israeli experts on tilapia to fishery cooperatives in Zambales and Pangasinan. The project was in coordination with the Israel Embassy,2003.

Served as a member of a panel on a Ph.D. thesis on cooperatives at the De La Salle University. The survey nationwide was coordinated by my office. With my support, Dr. Lope Dapun saved a lot of money and time and is now a faculty member at the University of Northern Mindanao, 2002.

Facilitated the study grants of a number of cooperative specialists, from both government and the private sector, to Israel, 2001-2004.

Guest Speaker, Promoting Rural Women’s Cooperative Businesses, 14 October 2005, Romblon, Romblon.

Resource Speaker and Elected Adviser, Legal Defense Fund for Public School Teachers and Other Civil Servants Cooperative, UP SOLAIR, 9 October 2005.

Resource Speaker, Promoting Women’s Cooperative Businesses, Antipolo City, 12 August 2005.

Guest Speaker, 26th Annual Stockholders Meeting, Basilica Site, Batangas City, 30 March 2005, Cooperative Bank of Batangas.

Resource Person, Women in Transformation Leadership, Cooperative Women Leadership Transformation Seminar/workshop, 3 March 2005, Riverview Resort and Conference Center, 3 March 2005, Calamba City.

Resource Speaker, Housing Cooperatives, Prospects and Challenges, Benguet State University, RSDC Hall, 20 December 2004, Benguet State University, La Trinidad, Benguet.

Resource Speaker, 3rd Annual Public School Teachers and Employees Cooperatives Summit, 11 December 2004, Harizon Edsa Hotel, Mandaluyong City.

Keynote Speaker, 4th Calamianes Cooperative Convention, 24 November 2004, Linapacan, Palawan.

Resource Speaker, 23rd Annual General Assembly of the Pangasinan and Cities Cooperative Union (PACCU), 2004 Provincial Cooperative Month Celebration, 23 October 2004, Lenox Hotel, Dagupan City.

Resource Speaker, Empowering Rural Folks through Entrepreneurship and Cooperativism, Opening Ceremony, 2004 National Science and Technology Week Celebration, Region XII, 15 July 2004, Filmart Mall Convention Hall, Koronadal City, South Cotabato.

Guest Speaker, First La Union Cooperative Housing Forum, 4 July 2004, Diego Silang Hall, Provincial Capitol, San Fernando City.
Resource Speaker, Globalization and Its Impact on Cooperatives, Northwestern League of Cooperatives Annual Congress and Forum, 4-7 June 2004.

Guest Speaker, 8th Educational Forum, Philippine Federation of Credit Cooperatives Northern Mindanao League, 16 April 2004, Inland Resort Hotel and Restaurant, Butuan City.

Guest Speaker, General Assembly, KOOPNAMAN, 3 April 2004, Lucena City.

Resource Speaker, 8th Provincial Cooperative Congress, 15 November 2003, Albay Astrodome, Legaspi City.

Certificate of Appreciation Recipient, Office of the Governor, Province of Cagayan, Tuguegarao City, 21 October 2003, Cagayan State University Gymnasium.

Guest Speaker, 3rd Calamianes Cooperative Convention, 18 October 2003, Busuanga Coliseum, Busuanga, Palawan.

Plaque of Commendation, Cooperative Development Authority, for convening the country’s First Women in Cooperatives Summit, August 2003.

Convention Speaker, Philippine Federation of Housing Cooperatives and Cooperative Union of the Philippines, 21 March 2003, Montebello Villa Hotel, Cebu City.

Keynote Speaker, Inauguration and Blessing of the Cooperative Administration Building, Hijo Employees Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Cooperative, Madaum Tagum City, 18 March 2003, Divine Mercy Compound, Madaum Tagum City.

Guest of Honor and Speaker, Cooperative Month Celebration of Ifugao Federation of Cooperatives, 24 November 2002, Lagawe, Ifugao.

Guest Speaker, 16th Foundation Anniversary and 4th Annual Women’s Congress, 11 November 2002, Daet Camarines Norte, Cooperative Bank of Camarines Norte.

Guest Speaker, 2nd Calamianes Cooperative Convention, 18 October 2002, LCC Auditorium Culion Palawan.

Guest of Honor and Speaker, 21st Annual Assembly of Pangasinan Cooperatives, 18 August 2002, ATI-PTC, Tabay, Sta. Barbara, Pangasinan.

Guest Speaker, 33rd Annual General Assembly, Fatima Multi Purpose Cooperative, 24 March 2002, Fatima, Vigan City.

Keynote Speaker, 34th General Assembly San Luis Development Cooperative, Rafael Nantes Covered Court, 17 March 2002, Lucban Quezon.

Resource Speaker, Importance of Internet in Cooperatives and SMEs, North Luzon Cyber Forum, 13 March 2002, Dagupan City Astrodome.

Resource Person, The First Quezon City Cooperatives and SMEs Conference, 22 February 2002, PSSC, Quezon City Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Plaque of Appreciation, 9th Foundation Anniversary, Association of Bangahon, Aklan, 9 December 2001.

Guest Speaker, General Assembly, Samahang Magkakapitbahay ng Apolonio Samson Multipurpose Cooperative, A. Samson Barangay Gym, 30 November 2001, Quezon City.

Guest of Honor, 4th Annual Valenzuela Cooperatives Assembly and Dangal ng Valenzuela Awards Ceremonies, 10 November 2001, Valenzuela Convention Center.

Resource Speaker, Coffee Production and the Role of Cooperatives, Tala Orani Development Cooperative, 12 October 2001, Tala Orani, Bataan Plaque of Appreciation, Regional Dialogue on Projects for abaca cooperatives in Bicol, 5 June 2001, People’s Hall, Provincial Capitol, Legaspi City.

Guest Speaker, Annual General Assembly of the Quezon Federation of Union and Cooperatives, 2 June 2001, Heritage Hall, Halina Hotel, Lucena City.

Resource Speaker, 23rd General Assembly, Tanay Market Vendors and Community Multipurpose Cooperative, 24 March 2001, Tanay Municipal Basketball Court.

Guest Speaker, 28th General Assembly, 23 March 2001, Plaza Marilag, Project 4 Development Cooperative.

Resource Speaker, 9th Nueva Ecija Farmers Congress, 5 March 2001, Nueva Ecija University of Science and Technology, Cabanatuan City.

Resource Speaker, The Challenge of Cooperative Banking, Luzon Federation of Cooperative Banks, 8-10 February 2001, Crown Peak Garden Hotel, Subic Freeport Zone.

Resource Speaker, Albay Provincial Cooperative Congress, Albay Astrodome, 14 October 2000, Legaspi City.

Resource Speaker, Government Employees Symposium on the Impact of Privatization on the Public Sector, Provincial Capitol, Puerto Princesa Palawan, 7 August 2000, Philippine Government Employees Association.

Facilitated the visit of UK based Public World headed by Brendan Martin, an international expert on Privatization and the Public Sector, August 2000. The Civil Service Commission was the partner institution.

Initiated and served as the National Coordinator in Advancing Workers Welfare and Participation in the Public Sector (a joint project of UP SOLAIR and the Civil Service Commission), July 2000.

Initiated the partnership between UP SOLAIR and the Bureau of Labor Relations on a Workers Education Development Program(WODP) with a formal agreement.





L. MEMBER OF PHILIPPINE DELEGATION/STUDY VISITS

1-3 September 1997, Why Women? What Politics? The Power of the Women Electorate, CAPWIP, Taipei.

2-3 April 1997, Pacific Asia in the 21st Century-Governance, Food Security and Trade. Sponsored by The Pacific Asia Society Philippines. EDSA Plaza Hotel.

Why Women? What Politics? The Power of the Women Electorate, Third Congress, center for Asia-Pacific, Women in Politics, Korolevu, Fiji, 19-24 November 1996.

The City Summit, Second National Conference in Human Settlements (Habitat II), Istanbul, Turkey 30 May-12 June 1996.

International Industrial Relations Association USA, 10th World Congress, Washington D.C., USA, June 1995.

September 1994, Tokyo, Japan. Sponsored by the Japanese Foundation on Workplace Japanese Industrial Relations and Human Resource Development.

June-25 July 1993 Osaka, Japan. Sponsored by the Osaka University, Faculty of Economics and Law.

June 1989, Moscow and Kiev, USSR. Sponsored by the World Federation of Trade Unions.

June 1989, Prague, Czechoslovakia. Sponsored by the World Federation of Trade Unions.

June-2 July 1989, Bonn, Stuttgart, Freuedunstat and Dusseldorf, West Germany. Sponsored by the Friedrich Elbert Stiftung.

July 1989, Ferney. Sponsored by the Public Service-International.

July 1989, London, UK visited the Office of the National Association of Local Government Officers. July 1989, Oxford, UK visited Ruskin College, Oxford University.


M. OTHER PARTICIPATION

Participant Advancing Sustainable Entrepreneurship in the New Economy, National Pre-Congress (17-18 April 1997), PICC.

Participant Women Senior Leaders Network (WSLN) from APEC Economic Meeting (26 February 1997), Manila, Shangri-la Hotel.

Delegate, International Conference in Science and technology. The Human Resource Dimension(9-11 November 1994), Hotel International, Manila.

Participant, Financing Schemes for Philippine Higher Education: Meeting the Challenges of Quality and Equity (23-24 October 1992), De la Salle University, Taft Avenue, Manila.

Consultant, Cabinet Ministerial Project On Employment Generation in the Philippines, October-December 1982.

Research Associate, Technical Working Group on Labour Force Concepts and Measurement, jointly organized by the Philippines National Census Statistics Office and MOLE, April 1982-December 1982.

Consultant to the Planning Ministry on (UNFPA) Population and Development Research Project, November 1981-December 1982).

Lecturer, Staff Development Programme, Office of Manpower Planning and Development, National Manpower and Youth Council, January-December 1981.


N. OTHER PUBLICATIONS

Books

Tripartism and the Imperatives of Development in the Philippines: Special Reference to Minimum Wage Determination, 1974-1975 ( Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis, Sydney University Library).
Sikap-Gawa: Towards a Lasting Industrial Peace, vol.1 (Bishops Business’s Conference for Human Development Casebook Series, 1992).

With Melisa R. Serrano and Danilo A.Silvestre, Housing Cooperativism and Society, Vol.1 (UPEHCO), Inc., December 1991.

With P. Bandayrel and J. Paredes, Labor and Mass Media in the Philippines December, 1989.

John Smart, V.A. Teodosio and C. Jimenez, “Skills and Earnings: Issues in the Development Impact on the Philippines of Labor Export to the Middle East,” in Asian Labor Migration: Pipeline to the Middle East, ed. By Fred Arnold and Nasra Shah (Westview Press, Boulder and London, 1986). Pp.101-104.


Monographs

“Working Abroad: The Socio-Economic Consequences of Contract Labor Migration in the Philippines.” Institute of Labor and Manpower Studies, Manila 1983. Principal and Co-Investigators: V. Teodosio and C. Jimenez.


Articles

V. A. Teodosio, “Livelihood Project Management and Cooperative Enterprise and Development.” Paper presented to the Capability Building and Strategic Manning Workshop of the Department of Labor and Employment Flagship program for Women Workers, Malay, Aklan (14-18), April 1994.

V. A. Teodosio, “The University as an Environment for Successful Cooperative,” Paper presented to a brainstorming session on the promotion and development of cooperatives at UP in the Visayas, Mindanao, Iloilo (4 April, 1994).

Co-author, “Structural Adjustments and Industrial Relations in the Philippines”-LO UNDP (1993).

V. A. Teodosio, “The Nature of Industrial Relations in the Philippines: A Review of the Literature.” Paper presented at the Labor-Management Relations at the Enterprise Level for Stability and Productivity Conference (DOLE-ILO), Hyatt Regency Hotel, 16-17 December, 1991.

V. A. Teodosio, “The Young Workers in Global and ASEAN Perspective,” Report of the First ASEAN Young Forum (DOLE-Japan ASEAN Programme, 3 September, 1991).

V. A. Teodosio, “The Nature and Conflict in thePhilippines,” Paper Presented at Labor and Ideology Part III Conference (Taal Vista Hotel, Tagaytay, 26-2 June, 1991).

V. A. Teodosio and M. S.V. Amante, “The UP as an Instrumentality of the State: Potentials and Limits as an Organization,” Paper Submitted to the General Faculty Conference (Tagaytay City, December 1988).

A. Smart, V. A. Teodosio and C. Jimenez, “Filipino Workers in the Middle East: Social Profile and Policy Implications in the International Migration,” Vol. XXIII-V New York, 1985, pp.29-43.

A. Lazo, P. Sto. Tomas and V. A. Teodosio, “’Emigration Policies in the Philippines,” in ILO Working Paper (Geneva, 1982).

United Nation’s Experts Group Meeting on Cooperatives April 2009 UN New York.

VIRGINIA A. TEODOSIO obtained her Ph.D. in Political Economy from the University of Sydney in 1989 on a Graduate Research Scholarship awarded by the University. She is Professor of Industrial Relations at the University of the Philippines (UP) School of Labor and Industrial Relations. A recipient of numerous international fellowships in 22 countries, she is the main proponent and co-author of Cooperatives, Social Capital and the Shaping of State Transformation ( 2008), a UNESCO funded research project. She has published articles on Reconfiguring Microfinance and Third Sector Development in the Philippines ( 2007), Agricultural Cooperatives and Information Communication Technology in an Emerging Asia ( 2007), Women and the World of Work in Asia: Perspectives and Practices ( 2006) and Keeping the Spirit of 1896 Alive: The Cooperative Movement Rising ( 2003). Her work identifies a number of essential elements on what could have a profound effect on the character and direction of the Philippines cooperative movement.
Dr. Teodosio currently chairs the UP Employees Housing Cooperative ( UPEHCO) which she founded in 1990. She was also founding Director of the Philippine Cooperative Center in 1996 and was President of the Alliance of Cooperatives which participated in the Party List Election in 1998. A Presidential Appointee, she was a Member of the Board of Administrators of the Cooperative Development Authority (2000-2004), and was Convenor of the country’s first National Summit and Regional Summits of Women in Cooperatives. In 2001, she was Plenary Speaker on a Conference on Cooperatives and Social Economy which was held at the University of Barcelona. She has also participated in a number of study visits, meetings and conferences on various types of cooperatives in Asia. She was elected Vice-Chair of the Network for the Development of Agricultural Cooperatives in Asia and the Pacific (NEDAC) in 2003 to 2005. The Network is chaired by India and China is an active participant.
Dr. Teodosio serves as adviser to the Farmers’ Sectoral Representatives to the National Anti-Poverty Commission. The sector represents the network of the Cooperative for the Development of Coconut and Expansion Workers (COCODEW) which has a membership of 100,000 farmers in 65 provinces. They are mostly rebel returnees and Muslim tribal leaders who want to engage in agricultural modernization, organic farming, bioenergy and low carbon economy. A partnership between COCODEW and AgriNurture ( supplier of fresh fruits and vegetables in all SM hypermarts) has been established and 10,000 hectares in Bukidnon has been approved with at least a billion pesos funding. The project starts in July and is spread over five years. Twenty thousand farmers will benefit. Another project site is in North Cotabato with 43,000 hectares and production in an initial 1,500 hectares will take off in July as well with Asia and the Pacific as the market . Dr. Teodosio facilitated the partnership and will coordinate the Farmers’ Green Schools. Currently, she is in touch with a HongKong based network for another million hectares owned by the members of COCODEW for joint venture on organic products and an additional 4 million hectares for the coconut farm modernization.
Finally, Dr. Teodosio is a member representing Asia with India of the United Nation’s Experts Group on Cooperatives. The group’s first meeting was held in April 2009 at the UN in New York.

The Working Class, BioEnergy and Green Jobs

The Working Class, BioEnergy and Green Jobs: Rethinking Philippines Industrial Relations
Virginia A. Teodosio, Ph.D.*
University of the Philippines School of Labor and Industrial Relations

ABSTRACT

As elsewhere, there has been considerable debate on the diminished position of unions commonly associated with the onset of HRM-inspired employment initiatives. The substantial shift in industrial relations is characterized by employment structures from manufacturing towards services and technological changes requiring fewer but more skilled labor. In 2007, the economy grew at 7.3 percent with call center operations posting an epoch perspective in combination with the US 15 billion remittances from overseas Filipino workers. As the country attempts to win the competitive edge, the restructuring and outsourcing activities remain unabated and in the process, more inferior jobs are downgraded into the informal sector which number around 12 million own account workers and 4 million unpaid family workers ( DOLE, 13: 2009). The wage and salary workers total 18 million. The informal sector is characterized by marginal, low technology and low profit activities wherein a large number of work are in agriculture. Women and the young are vastly represented in this sector.

The Philippines depends on imported fuels like crude oil derivatives for 48 percent of its power needs. The remaining 52 percent are sourced from indigenous sources like biomass, hydropower and geothermal. The country is the world’s biggest geothermal producer behind the United States. Energy is the lifeblood of a modern economy. With its vast alternative energy sources, the Philippines has started to attract major global players as an investment port of call.

This study aims to show how the issues of bioenergy and microfinance have brought about widening interest in workers participation through agricultural based cooperatives in the direction of stimulating the domestic economy and in creating green jobs. Traditional collectivism is particularly strong in the country’s cooperative movement with a total of 4.7 million members. The cooperatives have been at the forefront on savings and credit for the past 60 years. Self-reliant and independent, the cooperatives’ social capital has helped the transformation of local communities.

Increasingly, the predominantly managerial oriented perspective, with its individualistic as opposed to collectivist values has informed HRM thinking on participation and representation. This has brought about unitarism and the withering away of power and influence of the unions. Individuals as well as communities win and lose in the great flux of markets. Agriculture plays a dominant role in a green economy and in eradicating poverty in the Philippine context. It should serve as the growth center.

Industrial relations is about the search for fairness and equality and yet the gap grows, and all

____________________________________________________________________________
* Professor, UP SOLAIR, Diliman Quezon City. Paper presented at the 15th World Congress of the International Industrial Relations Association (IIRA), Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre, Sydney, Australia 24-27 August 2009.


that trickles down is the reproduction of a class stratified society. To advance a theoretical perspective on voices and representation is to look for the sources that will drive developments
toward industrial democracy in the wider society. There is need for a clearer understanding of the conditions under which workers formulate their interests and voices in the social process relative to forms of collective action and green jobs.

INTRODUCTION

This paper considers industrial relations as an integral part of a wider set of mutually reinforcing institutions which should promote employment growth, gain sharing and income distribution. The formal job market is basically dependent on contact centers, business processing and outsourcing companies. The individualistic nature of the job discourages workers from representative active participation. Despite the deep seated changes in the nature of work and work relations, the 1974 Labor Code has yet to be amended and usually it is legislation which paves the way for new institutions to come into being. The informal sector has continued to prevail and this development constitutes a sharp departure from traditional conceptions of work with solid commitment to trade unionism and collective bargaining as the primary focus of worker expression. Class consciousness is not an exclusive product of the union movement. It is also a product of larger community institutions engaged in struggle ( Lustig, 2004:57). The study of industrial democracy is an integral part of the relations between capital and labor and the state in that relationship. A significant collectivistic form of representation has taken place in Philippine society and the state through the Cooperative and the Local Government Codes of 1990 have noticeably empowered the working class in the triangular relationship between labor, capital and the state itself.

With billions of pesos in deposits, the savings and credit cooperatives have paved the way to address basic services from education, health, water, housing and livelihood. Those which are well capitalized in each province have been tapped to be a partner of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and local governments to provide credit surety fund to non-collateralized micro, small and medium enterprises. It is predicted that in ten years’ time, the financial centers in the provincial capitals will be cooperatives and not banks. The electric cooperatives which number 116 have been mandated by the newly amended 2008 Cooperative Code of the Philippines to register with the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) and to date 17 of them have done so. Once all electric cooperatives are registered with the CDA, an additional 8 million households will be added to the existing 4.7 million individual members, a total of 12.7 million. Usually, ten thousand members attend the general assembly of big cooperatives to elect their officials and decide on issues in settling both short and long term goals. The election is computerized.

There is very little work on wage inequality and poverty in relation to an industrial relations system which should be part not only of the equation in explaining the widening income inequality but also in strengthening the capacities of workers to participate in domestic market expansion, regional cluster cooperation, international trade development and management. There should be a broadening in the definition of industrial relations on empowerment, the environment and market institutions. The world of work has been changing quite significantly since the 1990s. This has produced substantial changes in the way employee relations has developed driven there by the adoption of flexible working practices, market forces and changes in values. Much of work has become fragmented and many workers transient. It is important to understand how work is translated into employment with reasonable aims of equality and justice. In the search for new systems of representation in decision making, a different dimension of industrial democracy has been the experience with various forms of cooperatives. To describe the national policy arena and processes on bioenergy and microfinance is to offer a way of exploring industrial relations in terms of people’s participation on models of enterprise management and green jobs.

BIOENERGY POLICY AND WORKERS’ POTENTIAL IN LOW CARBON WORK

In January 2007, Republic Act 9367, otherwise known as the RA of 2006 mandates the use of biofuels in the country ( PNOC, 1: 2007). It aims to reduce the country’s dependence on imported, dollar draining and pollution generating petroleum products. The law was the first of its kind in Southeast Asia. It requires the blending of coco methyl esther (CME) or coco-diesel in diesel fed vehicles and of ethanol in gasoline fueled ones. Biofuels are alternative fuels which are produced from the feedstock or organic sources that are renewable such as trees, crops and plant fiber. Bioenergy, that is, biofuels of biological and renewable origin like bioethanol, biodisel and biomass for energy is the subject of increasing attention around the world. plant. They are carbon neutral fuels which mean that global warming need not get worse An early initiative is Republic Act 8749 known as the Clean Air Act of 1999 which also provides the framework for the use of alternative fuels for motor vehicles. Biofuels include bioethanol, biodiesel and other fuels. Bioethanol is a light alcohol produced by fermenting sugarcane, corn and cassava. Biodiesel is a renewable and biodegradable fuel extracted from plant oils. Its sources include palm, jatropha, and coconut. The reduction in fuel consumption as a result of the enactment could save as much as $US 2 billion annually if the country shifts from imported to locally produced diesel. The country imports about 7 billion US dollars worth of oil and petroleum products, 25 percent of which is diesel. The Department of Energy has to date accredited two biodiesel manufacturers, namely Senbel Fine Chemicals which has 54 retail markets and Chemrez, with 56 outlets. Geothermal energy is a means of producing energy by harnessing the heat from the earth and transforming it into electrical energy. Next to the United States, the Philippines is the second largest producer of geothermal power in the world. Apart from providing a substantial amount of electricity, geothermal energy at the same time ensures saving huge amounts of foreign exchange through the reduction of imported fuels. There is also the focus on the non-power application of geothermal resources such as multi-crop dryer projects and the promotion of hot springs for spa resort development.

The most common use for biofuels is in the automotive transport. With the possibility of diversifying energy resources and displacing large oil import bills, locally produced biofuels can reduce carbon emissions. At the same time there are questions about the role of fossil fuels in growing, transporting and processing the feedstock and in refining and distributing the biofuel. The response has been that this uncertainty can already be addressed since commercial energy production from biofuels has undergone technological and economical transformation. The conversion facilities in rural areas, close to where the feedstock is grown should increase employment and wages and ensure the sustainable use of local resources in the community. Energy crops have the potential to extend the land base available for agricultural activities and to create new markets for farmers ( Agbon, 17: 2008). These positive impacts in the dynamics of the rural economy should reduce the traditional exodus to urban areas and favor greater investment in rural infrastructure, health and education, The biofuel industries are expanding in Europe, Asia and the Americas
Bioenergy policy making involves as key players the National Biofuels Board of the Department of Energy and the Department of Agriculture (DA). The NBB is primarily tasked to require all entities engaged in the production, blending and distribution of biofuels to submit reports of their actual and projected sales and inventory as well as determine the availability of locally sourced biofuels. The DA, on the other hand, has introduced a national program for the production of crops for use as feedstock supply to ensure productivity and sustainable areas for cultivation and production of biofuel crops. The food versus fuel debate is not that crucial given the fact that many of the areas being developed for feedstock production are mostly unproductive or marginal land. Many of these lands have remained unutilized and converting them into productive use for biofuels will increase value added agriculture.
Philippines was the first country to use coconut as a source of feedstock for biodiesel. Size is a reliable guide to influence. There are 3.3 million hectares planted to coconut trees. About 25 million farmers and dependents of which 80 percent exported and 20 percent consumed locally. About 68 out of 79 provinces have coconut as their major agricultural product. In 2006, the revenue was US$ one billion and Mindanao was the major producer with 58 percent of total production. It is observed that coconut creates a better combustion and ability to clean engine parts that come in contact with fuel, lesser emissions leading to better mileage especially for older engines and that in colder climates coco-diesel is able to adapt due to the cold countries below freezing point.
The Philippine National Oil Corporation and its subsidiary, the Alternative Fuels Corporation (AFC) have undertaken biofuel feedstock research that ensures the country’s capacity to meet international standards. The AFC aims to bring the Philippines to the forefront of the global alternative fuels industry. The company’s twin objectives are meeting the domestic needs for biofuels and becoming a key player in biofuels in the Asia and Pacific Region. It has made jatropha as its feedstock for biodiesel production. Jatropha is a non edible plant that grows mostly in tropical countries and can easily be propagated through cuttings and seeds. The production of biodiesel in the Philippines is projected to increase by 200,00 metric tons in 2009. By 2012, AFC should have established the the 700,000 hectares of biofuel crop plantations and one million metric ton biodiesel refineries. With a ratio of one farmer for every two hectares, 350,000 green jobs can be generated in rural areas with jatropha propogation particularly in Palawan and Mindanao. Women are encouraged at the village level to use the extracted fuel for firing cooking stoves out of jatropha’s extracted fuel oil.
BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN EXPERTISE FOR THE FEW AND KNOWLEDGE FOR THE MANY

Land and resource rights are significant aspects in bioenergy projects involving the cultivation of energy crops or access to natural biosources. Biomass is the main source of energy use for 3 billion people in the developing world and has been converted into electricity and heat in industrial scale plants. Somewhere at the center of the arguments on how to create jobs and sustainable development, is the critical role of bioenergy and efficient usage. The pay offs from research and development are available and only have to be diffused widely in a continuing effort to bridge the gap between expertise for the few and knowledge for the many. Only an encompassing renewable energy movement can be expected to actively support long term policy commitments to foster proper structures and legitimize socially responsible behavior. If bioenergy is to capture the imagination of the working class, it will not be because of an enlightened minority in the society finds its logic attractive but because in people’s everyday organized activities, they choose to act in ways that complement that logic. There are already signs that the power industry is changing in small ways. The last five years has seen an enormous upsurge in interest in clean energy from both environmental and from an economic point of view. For example, seven electric cooperatives in Western Visayas have entered into a joint venture for a biomass driven power plant. Another network are the transport cooperatives that have moved to convert their engines to LPG. Apart from cutting cost by half the price of regular diesel, LPG is produced as a by product of natural gas and crude oil refining. It leads to much lower emissions of carbon monoxide and enables a vehicle to travel farther per liter. The Philippines has a potential installed capacity of 253.7 MW from bagasse resources. The impact of the global financial meltdown would disproportionately affect the very poor and the unemployed. State support for education is critical in supplying high quality manpower in the effective functioning of power grids and in fostering people’s participation in energy poor rural areas. An essential component of the new development strategies is the growing recognition of cooperatives to become one of the key players since they constitute highly powerful actors in various communities. The government faces a formidable challenge in reconciling its emphasis on efficient energy and integration with people’s right to democratic governance. The current emphasis on joint ventures should set an example by applying standards of transparency, accountability and participation.
Commercial banks have always financed large scale agriculture( Llanto, 2001:2). The cooperative movement on the other hand has mobilized savings for the entrepreneurial rural sector. The 1997 National Strategy for Microfinance provided that for low income households and microenterprise to be able to access credit, the overall vision was for a regulatory framework to facilitate the role of the private sector in the provision of financial services. As a result, government especially non-financial line agencies could focus instead on the creation of an enabling policy environment. In 2000, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) was mandated by the General Banking Law of 2000 to recognize microfinance as a legitimate banking activity and to set the rules and regulations for its practice within the banking sector. The People’s Credit and Finance Corporation (PCDC) has a micro energy credit program for adequate, affordable and reliable energy services. There is no doubt that attention has been given to financing micro-bioenergy projects such as in the planting of sugarcane, cassava, jatropha and coconut. In 2004, a total of 305 billion has been spent to 5.6 clients which created 2.5 million jobs. The poor have proven that they have the capacity to repay their loans and to save and that microfinance institutions can be operational and self sufficient.
The Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) has a microfinance resource center for high value commercial crops financing as well as organic farming. . The Land Bank of the Philippines (BP) has entered into an agreement with Marcela Farm in the purchase and selling of emission reduction from piggery waste to energy project. Both DBP and the LBP are members of the Association of Development Financing Institutions in Asia and the Pacific ( ADFIAP), a United Nations accredited international organization of development banks frontline to institutionalize green banking practices. The LBP plans to give a special award to cooperatives and SMEs that will demonstrate performance in protecting the environment and impact mitigating measures. The working class should have the full knowledge on the role of bioenergy in the development of local communities at large. While energy and job creation differ in many respects from other conventional types of employment, there is the opportunity for a most economically dynamic agriculture sectors.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources ( DENR) program on the Upland Development Program (UDP) has two components in its emergency employment efforts under the green collar jobs program. Some 21, 000 hectares of open lands within the country’s watershed areas would be planted with fruit bearing trees and high value crops wherein thousands of upland farmers are expected to benefit. The other component is the Bantay Gubat project where 59,000 qualified members of upland communities will be hired as short term forest guards to keep watch against forest fires and illegal logging activities. A total of 54,425 upland farmers each representing one family will benefit under the UDP program with each farmer getting a hectare to develop.
THE FUTURE OF THE ECONOMY ARE GREEN JOBS
The Philippines aims to generate 20 percent of its energy from renewable resources by 2015. The Renewable Energy Act of 2008 ( RA 9513) promotes the intensive development, utilization and commercialization of renewable energy source-geothermal, hydropower, biomass, solar, wind, ocean and other emerging energy source. It recognizes the critical need to provide adequate and sustainable energy services. Considered the most comprehensive renewable energy law in Southeast Asia, it aims to work towards:
A green pricing option to promote consumer choice of power supply;
Allocation of a minimum amount of generation capacity from renewable energy;
Promotion of the use of renewable energy hybrid systems and applications;
Conduct of sustained information dissemination on renewable energy development; and the Provision of financial and fiscal incentives to renewable energy developers and implementors.

Asia accounts for 27 percent of the world’s energy related greenhouse emission and the World Bank pushing for its Clean Development Mechanisms (CDM) program that encourages developed countries to come up with carbon reducing energy projects in developing countries. The CDM is a program under the Kyoto Protocol, a treaty agreed upon by 169 countries to reduce carbon emission from fuel consumption of cars, power plants and other industries. The Kyoto Protocol obliges states and companies to reduce their emissions, as they receive carbon credits which they can sell. There are two primary markets for carbon offsets. In the larger compliance market, companies, governments or other entities buy carbon offsets in order to comply with their emission caps. In the smaller voluntary market companies sell carbon credits to commercial and individual customers who are interested in lowering their carbon footprint.

While the rural poor are faced with new vulnerabilities, they also are faced with new opportunities. The green economy and an activist state should reveal new trends on how workers are able to gain real influence over technological change at work. There is great potential for carbon sequestration projects in the Philippines, primarily due to its biophysical condition and presence of land areas that could and should be reforested. There are millions of hectares in the uplands that pose ecological and economic threat. For financing, projects, the rapid expansion of the agriculture frontier in investment are reflected the entry of some very powerful foreign economic actors. There is much to be learned for the working class in the management of the collective knowledge and experience of local groups in the impact of new technology on bioenergy work conditions. The people must learn how to come me up with appropriate solutions together on the utilization of indigenous renewable and sustainably sources of clean energy to mitigate toxic greenhouse gas emissions and increase rural employment and income.

President Arroyo has set a June deadline for local government units to comply with Republic Act 9003 or the ecological solid waste management act. Only 10 percent of the compliance is being met but she wants 50 percent by June. Arroyo chairs the Carbon Cutting Coalition with 17 member agencies constituting the Presidential Task force on Climate Change (PTFCC) which she created in 2007 with the DOE and DENR at the helm. The PTFCC conducts a rapid assessment of the impact of climate change on the country especially on the most vulnerable sectors like water, agriculture, coastal areas, as well as terrestrial and marine ecosystems. The PTFCC also ensures strict compliance with air emission standards and act with urgency to combat deforestation and environmental degradation. In 2004, the Payatas dump was converted into a controlled waste disposal facility and equipped with a biogas plant. Since assuming the title of environmental czar, Arroyo checked the various municipalities and towns on the handling of garbage which is a major source of methane, a lethal greenhouse gas.

Carbon trading is similar to the exchange of securities and commodities where carbon is given an economic value. In 2000, the NorthWind Power Development Corporation was established and in 2005, the first 25 megawatt (MW) wind farm in Bangui Bay was introduced. In June 2008, NorthWind added five more turbines and raised the wind’s farm capacity to 33 MW enabling the company to provide half of the province’s power needs. The project catalyzed the emergence of the carbon market because of the World Bank’s carbon finance program through the sale of carbon emission reduction credit under the CDM of the Kyoto Protocol.

Currently, there are 23 CDM projects registered with the CDM Board in the Philippines. A number of them is on agricultural wastes as well as renewable energy alternatives to fuel. The Community Development Fund is also being accessed in the context of initiatives on composting, wastewater treatments and agro-forestry. The communications media must play an important role in building bioenergy awareness into the popular culture in green jobs creation. A meaningful assessment of the social consequences of green economy begins with the fact that the very success of NorthWind opens up new choices that available for the working class.

CONCLUSIONS

A massive cultural change is underway on the issue of global warming the world over. More and more people and institutions are joining the green movement and they are bound to bring changes of lifestyle and work relations. Industrial relations’ fight against inequality should be considered the first priority and for new institutional forms to be created. In order to foster dialogues, there is a need to generate multiple spaces in which to concentrate initiatives and push forward joint efforts. Technological breakthroughs open up the possibilities of struggle, organization and negotiation that are both new and powerful. Alliances that may be forged and the solutions adopted could pave the way for an articulation of collective projects and the engagement with these projects to finally represent the voices of the majority of a population.

REFERENCES
Lasco, Rodel, et al, Potential Carbon Sequestration Projects in the Philippines.Manuscript.

Agbon, Marriz. , Characterisitics of Energy Crops in the Philippines, The Third Asia Biomass Seminar in Manila, Dusit Hotel Nikko Makati City, 5 to November 2007.

Bureau of Labor and Employment, Current Labor Statistics, January 2009.

Marasigan, Mario, Outlook of the Utilization and Promotion of Biomass in the Philippines, The Third Asia Biomass Seminar in Manila, Dusit Hotel Nikko Makati City, November 5-9 2007.

Center of Excellence for Sustainable Energy in Southeast Asia. Seminar on Enhancing Energy Independence Through Renewable Energy. Philippines Department of Energy.

The Philippine National Oil Company. The Alternative Fuels Corporation. Biofuels Act Primer. PIA, 2007.

Websites:

Andrade, Jeannette, “Asia Emerging as Center of Carbon Trade Program”, Philippine Daily Inquirer ( April, 8, 2008), http://www.asianewsnet.net/print

Land bank of the Philippines. htttp://www.landbank.com/

PGMA Launches Coalition to Ease Impacts of Global Warming, Climate Change. http://balita.ph/2009/04/18/

PNOC’s Biofuels Unit Acquires a Jatropha Expeller for its Intensified R and D Activity. http://www.pnoc-afc.com.ph/newsroom

Santoalla, Ed, Breakthrough in Development Financing, Development Banks as Agents of Social, Economic and Environmental Change, Business Mirror. http://ww.businessmirror.com

WB’s Carbon Finance: No Tilting at Windmills. http://www.worldbank.org.ph/

Marxism, Hegemony and the Cooperatives of the Filipinos

Marxism, Hegemony and the Cooperatives of the Filipinos

V.A.Teodosio, Ph.D.


We are in an interregnum. The crisis is not to be resolved by wishing away the problems or harking back to a past era. It is necessary to create a radical alternative, and to provide the progressive forces with a new sense of direction. Neither the worship of old prescriptions nor the incantation of that which we find most reassuring will necessarily serve as well.
Geoff Hodgson, 1984

Marxist socialism in a number of varieties has certainly had a drastic effect on the political history of the 20th century; and if the effect has been somewhat different from that initially hoped for and advertised, there is always the future to be called in to redress the balance of the present.
John Dunn, 1993


Introduction

Central to Antonio Gramsci’s considerable contribution to Marxism is his theory of hegemony which is based on the premise that ideas can have the weight of the material force. The ideological struggle in terms of hegemony characterizes a system of order and various means of control wherein the working class absorbs the ideas of the dominant group. For Gramsci, the ideal ideological circumstance should be popular control and argues for counter-hegemonic mediations identified by a long and protracted process in the designated social sphere, patiently advancing for political association and participation, from one stage to the next.
This paper explores the relationship of Gramsci’s Marxism and a cooperative movement that deserve greater recognition and more careful analysis to reflect their significance in the lives of the Filipino people. The movement’s expanding base from microfinance, health, housing to agribusiness, presents a critical perspective, not always found in mainstream texts, with which to understand and explain an emancipatory, social phenomena in contemporary Philippine society. It considers the cooperatives of the Filipinos as representing a distinct alternative that exists within capitalism. To what extent then can cooperatives, built from the bottom up, help create the conditions in the country for a counter-hegemony? What has been the significance and implications of the cooperatives in terms of civil society being a precondition to the democratic process?
Marxism, the State and Hegemony
Marxism nourished a sense of human collectivity, of humanity capable of confronting inequity and oppression. It is a science of tendencies, and includes struggle, strategy and choice. Traditional Marxism believed that political control follows directly from economic control and that state power was fundamental to the continuing dominance of a
of a ruling class.. The unequal distribution of economic wealth, goods and power sustains a capitalist system that produces and reproduces itself as an antagonistic structure of class relations-primarily between the bourgeoise and the proletariats. To understand the state of play in the relations of these class forces is to understand such relations in its contradictory form where bargains are struck, coalitions are formed indicating how powerful are the consequences of the political for the economic. Constantly, Marxism reaffirmed the necessity of the political movement as the means to the emancipation of the working class. It draws together powerful ideas for the development of a mass party capable taking on a direct assault on state power. Necessarily, the more the theory of the state and the centrality of state power is developed, the more critical becomes the role of the political.
But there is no inevitable guaranteed link between class origin and political ideas. Building on Marxism’s logic of class relations, Gramsci’s contribution is on the struggle for ideological dominance, hegemony. As he has pointed out:
The state is the entire complex of practical and theoretical activities with which the ruling class not only justifies and maintains its dominance, but manages to win the active consent of those over whom it rules ( Neocleous, 1996:37).

The acceptance by the subordinate classes does not mean those who accept it are aware of the power of the dominant, hegemonic system. The state should be understood not just as the apparatus of government operating within the public sphere ( government, political parties, military) but also as part of a network of the private sphere of civil society (church, media, education) through which hegemony functions. Hegemony is the principal machinery of state power that finds expression in its social relations at various levels of culture and history.
The cooperatives of the Filipinos are deeply embedded in their respective communities.

A cooperative is a duly registered association of at least fifteen persons with a common bond of interest who voluntarily join together to achieve a lawful common social and economic end. It is organized by the members who equitably contribute the required share capital and accept a fair share of the risks and benefits of their undertakings in accordance with universally accepted cooperative principles and practices ( Pimentel and Cua, 1994: 25).

While a number of cooperatives have collapsed, the rest has not become simple appendage of the state apparatus. Their ideological struggle is one that draws on political, cultural and social engagements. Necessarily, such a struggle has important implications on the relevance of the concepts of hegemony and counter-hegemony in the democratic process of a philosophy of praxis linked with the people, who have remained faithful to the cause. The principle of collective leadership has ensured a type of grassroots democracy that is deep seated in many local communities and participation nurtured self confidence built into social changes. Increasingly, the daily experience of successful cooperatives has reinforced the building of a consciousness of independence and collaboration not of a dole out mentality. The widespread development of people’s enterprises provided valuable lessons in social analysis and criticism on how to help transform a local community through autonomy.

The government and all its branches, subdivisions, instrumentalities and agencies shall ensure the provision of technical guidance, financial assistance and other services to enable said cooperatives to develop into viable and responsive economic enterprises and thereby bring about a strong cooperative movement that is free from any condition that might infringe upon the autonomy or organizational integrity of cooperatives.
Further, the state recognizes the principle of subsidiarity under which the cooperatives sector will initiate and regulate within its own ranks the promotion and organization, training and research, audit and support services relating to cooperatives with government assistance where necessary ( Pimentel and Cua, 1994: 14).

The cooperative movement is a distinct and separate historic bloc with alternative meanings and practices. It has gained headway with 8 million membership (Malaya, 2003:7).Ordinary people have assumed an entirely new and more active role in the necessary reciprocity between civil and political society and the masses have embraced the cooperative identity. It is broad based and not dominated by a few leaders and particular abuses have been addressed. It has struggled at different levels but continues to consolidate by reaffirming cooperativism as even more urgent than before. In short, the task of the revolutionary is to change consciousness with the movement dealing with alternative measures on how to confront issues of poverty, inequalities, ecology and unemployment, among others.

The conception of the historical bloc in which precisely material forces are the content and ideologies are the form, through this distinction between form and content has purely didactic value, since the material forces would be inconceivable historically without form and the ideologies would be individual fancies without the material forces ( Sassoon, 1987:120).

Since Jose Rizal established a water-service cooperative in Dapitan, the movement has opened up public space for a platform of liberating enterprises with collective imagination, creativity, energy, courage and dedication. Their capacity for resource generation, built in struggle, resulted in more opportunities and solidarity. Since 1995, the supportive atmosphere further enriched the movement with national summits held every two years, with thousands in attendance to lay down their own agendas with issues such as popular control, the relations between the public and the private and the organization of identities and culture. In between the summits, regional networks continue to articulate their collective interests in the social and political arenas.
The past fifty years, in particular, witnessed countless general assemblies that introduced self government and democratic planning.
The general assembly shall be the highest policy making body of the cooperative and shall exercise such powers as stated in this Code, in the articles of cooperation and in the by-laws of the cooperative. The general assembly shall have the following exclusive powers which cannot be delegated: ( a) to determine and approve amendments to the articles of cooperation and by-laws; (b) to elect or appoint the members of the board of directors and to remove them for cause; to approve the development plan of the cooperative; and such other matters requiring two-thirds vote of all members of the general assembly, as provided in this Code ( Pimentel and Cua, 1994: 66).

There is difficulty finding venues because of the thousands who want to participate in the assemblies. Self government has taught cooperative members how to solve problems together and the transparency in decision making has encouraged participation further more. This validates mass participation in the public life of cooperatives. Each year, relations with local states are reorganized during October and November, with cooperatives having a visible social and political life with marches, festivities, conferences in claiming their realm of associational and communal spheres of influence. In the rural areas, cooperatives are composed mostly of small farmers and fisherfolks. In the urban areas, apart from the market vendors and transport workers, government employees have cooperative involvement as well.
Government employees who are members of cooperatives may be allowed by their heads of office to participate on official time in general assemblies, board and committee meetings, seminars, conferences, workshops, technical meetings and training courses of cooperatives, locally or abroad, provided that, the operations of the office concerned are not adversely affected thereby ( Pimentel and Cua, 1994: 63).

The Philippines was the first Asian country to adopt a cooperative branding strategy, FOCCUS, which means Finance Organizations Achieving Certified Credit Union Standards. Central to the branding achievement is a system-wide logo and common print visuals. The project was supervised by the Credit Union Empowerment and Strengthening (CUES) Philippines in cooperation with the World Council of Credit Unions (WUCCO), the apex trade organization of the international credit unions system promoting sustainable growth and expansion of credit unions and financial cooperatives worldwide. Launched in Mindanao in 1997 with 23 cooperatives, the approach called for an integrated financial and education delivery system, access to financial services targeting poor rural women and savings mobilization, absence of dependency on international and government loans, adequate institutional capital, competitive market pricing and capable and well trained employees.
Cooperatives are used to organized efforts to bring systemic change in a given policy or regulation. In many ways, the shaping of the CUES Philippines is derived from the social and economic dynamics of local communities. The cooperative leadership has always considered knowledge as an essential resource and where there is an effective management, there is the application of knowledge.
It has been deplored that the Philippines has yet to produce anything resembling a developmental state and the banking industry is at the very core of the analysis.
The type of rent capitalism that corresponds with the patrimonial oligarchic state reflects the relative power of the state apparatus and business interests. In contrast to bureaucratic capitalism, where the major beneficiaries of rent extraction are based within the administrative apparatus, the principal direction of rent extraction is reversed: a powerful oligarchic business class extracts privilege from a largely incoherent bureaucracy (Hutchcroft, 1998:52).

The failure of the state to apply the most basic regulation of capital, had ensured the oligarchic forces being given favourable access to cheap loans, credit support for failing business ventures loans and high profitability with minimum capitalization requirements. The poorly developed state apparatus has been captured by particularistic demands of powerful oligarchic forces that seriously weakened its role in steering economic growth.
As the state is restricted overall by an oligarchical control structure on finance, those from below were largely preoccupied with very important concerns in people’s real life experience especially in the rural areas: lack of savings, scarcity of credit and high interest rates. Usurious credit underlines the concrete nature of poverty in this country and this is the core of the development of a greater collective consciousness amongst cooperative members. The cooperative experience represents a close understanding of the struggle against the tyranny of widespread debt-bondage and usury. It is a most authentic form of collective action that was formally recognized in 2005, the UN International Year of Microcredit. Locally and globally, there were variations on the microfinance discourse but in a workshop held in Singapore, the theme was about a Southeast Asia’s credit revolution in terms of institutional, economic and cultural perspective. An interesting question that was raised is on whether cooperatives will still have a useful role to play despite the general trend toward commercial microfinance.
In the Philippines, the state has proven capable in building political will and a comprehensive program on regulatory framework on microfinance. This is the result of an aggressive cooperative movement that served as an essential platform towards for a centrality in administration. It is a significant achievement for having shown that any emancipatory project will have to reckon with the movement.
Microfinance is the provision of a broad range of financial services such as deposits, loans, payment services, money transfers and insurance products to the poor and low income households and their micro enterprises. Its core principles are (1) that the poor need sustained access to financial services and products and this sustained access is a primary issue over interest rates; (2) that the poor have the capacity to repay their loans and to save and (3) that microfinance institutions can be operationally financially self sufficient.
The savings and credit cooperatives have the most successful record in providing credit to the poor and the key to institutional stability for them is the process of consensus. In 2008, ten years of solid work on standard setting will be in place, a result of consensus building between the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) and the National Credit Council (NCC). Created in 1990, the Cooperative Development Authority is mandated to promote the viality and growth of cooperatives as instruments of equity, social justice and sustainable economic development as well as rationalize government policies and regulatory functions supporting cooperative development. Established in 1993, the NCC aims to rationalize and optimize government credit and guarantee programs. It encompasses linkages and policy dialogues to encourage a higher level of private sector participation in credit delivery in the rural areas. The Department of Finance chairs the NCC, with the Land Bank of the Philippines as co-chair.
In 1998, the (NCC) facilitated the start of a regulatory environment for credit cooperatives in response to the advocacy of big federations of cooperatives engaged in savings and credit operations. A technical working group chaired by the NCC and representatives from the Cooperative Development Authority, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, Land Bank of the Philippines, major cooperative federations and a number of key primary cooperatives with assets of more than one hundred million pesos, was created to work on the standards and the accompanying manual. In 2000, the final draft was recommended to the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) for approval. In 2001, a public hearing was held on the Standard Chart of Accounts for Credit Cooperatives and Other Types of Cooperatives with Credit Services. In 2002, a CDA memorandum on the approval of the standards was circulated. In 2003, the proposed framework for the regulation and supervision of cooperatives was presented to the CDA before a series of consultations with the cooperative sector nationwide. It was observed that transparent, accurate and consistent set of information is important for effective regulation. Regulation covers the issuance of basic rules and regulations for the safe and sound operation of credit and other types of cooperatives with savings and credit services, i.e., restrictions on financial transactions, issuing cease and desist orders, supervision or removal of officials, fines or penalties, involuntary dissolution of the cooperatives and civil or criminal sanctions. The state agency in charge to implement such rules is the CDA. Supervision is the process by which the designated supervisor determines if the credit cooperative is managed according to sound management practices and in compliance with the basic rules and regulation set by the state regulatory agency. The actor involved this time is non-state, the designated federations or association of credit cooperatives. The initial steps to be taken would include the issuance of the circular mandating the adoption of the Standard Chart of Accounts (SCA) and the issuance of the circular mandating the adoption of the Performance Standards (COOP-PESOS). In 2004, after regional consultations on the standards, technical trainings were provided to the CDA personnel.
The continuing expansion of the cooperative-state relations has encompassed a broader collectivity. Changes in social practice are accompanied by, and often coordinated by, changes in law. Having sprung directly from the people’s experience and need, the initiatives have ensured wider solidarity stemming from different sets of circumstances. The National Livelihood Support Fund has made its partner conduit 63 cooperatives nationwide in its national strategy for microfinance, livelihood and enterprise development.
The strengthening of agricultural cooperatives has been supported by both Quedan and Rural Credit Guarantee Corporation (Quedancor) and the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP). The Quedancor has accelerated the flow of investments and credit resources. The major objectives of its agri-credit programs include: financing the working capital requirements of farmers and fisherfolk, creating more jobs in the rural areas through the adoption of labor intensive farming and fishing projects and encourage participation of the private sector, particularly the input suppliers in the agricultural development program. The Quedancor has implemented an innovation on agri-credit financing approach characterized by being non-collateralized and having low-bearing interest rates. The approach is called the Self-Reliant Team or the SRT model which has recently been transformed into SRT cooperatives. The SRT covers a program overview, entrepreneurial skills training, values formation, credit investigation, savings mobilization as well as the identification of input suppliers as well as service providers. This linkage will ensure the economy of scale required in gaining access on a wider range of market opportunities. Every self reliant team becomes an integrator towards the right interactions among the players (producers, consumers, suppliers of inputs and services).
Meanwhile, the LandBank has introduced a PhP 10 million capacity building program in cooperation with 300 cooperatives involved in a PhP 5 billion e-commerce project. It accounts for 67 per cent of all formal lending to agricultural households, making it the largest formal credit institution in the rural areas. The LandBank has a Countryside Development Foundation that provides training and capacity building services for cooperatives with the the Cooperative Business Integration and Development Program is also in place to prepare key cooperatives as viable business partners. In addition, there is also the LandBank- LGU Cooperative Strengthening Partnership Program in order to consolidate and maximize their resources and to complement-for cooperative strengthening-those of the local areas. The synergy is aimed at promoting the ability, competence and resources of both parties to uplift the socio-economic condition of the small farmers cooperatives. The following activities are undertaken: cooperative segmentation and training needs analysis; identification of cooperative livelihood activities; adoption of credit and financial programs; and the implementation of training programs. The Cooperative Financial Intermediation Development Program has been designed to improve the financial practices of selected LandBank assisted cooperatives by transforming them into organizations with bank like operations that feature savings deposit taking and lending operations. The program aims to instill among cooperative members the habit of voluntary savings; to improve capitalization and to better serve the financial needs of the general membership; build the capacities that could create and sustain financial services to their members; and enable the cooperatives to be profitable and learn the productive use of their savings by lending them to their members and using such as leverage to access more credits from banking institutions. The Gawad sa Pinakatanging Kooperatiba is LandBank’s way of recognizing outstanding cooperatives in helping their members and the community. Support to cooperatives is integral to LandBank’s countryside development agenda.
The cooperative experience has developed the market as an ideological construct, with ordinary people making sense of their experience characterized by their own modality and popular beliefs which themselves are material forces. However, civil society includes not only the economic structure but also the forms of organizations that arise from and regulate it. As an organic connection with the state, cooperatives are points of reference for grassroots democracy, accountability and social change. In the struggle to win hearts and minds, the cooperative experience is deep seated and has shown a historically shaped. capacity to transform life on a variety of different fronts.
In the dialectic of theory and practice, civil society locates upon the state to generate institutional reforms and for the latter, to also forge social initiatives from civil society itself. The state cultivates and legitimizes in various ways its own agendas. Understanding the nature of the state is dependent upon an understanding of civil society’s relations to the state and such relations are by no means simple and direct. Hence, the primacy of the political in a context of the state codifying power relations in society. The political struggle takes place within the state. The state, as the arena of political activity, is the front line where the resolution of struggle and crises occurs.

Organic Intellectuals and Popular Education
A class that can transform itself from the secondary to the leading element in society has politics rooted in social relations, could connect with traditional institutions and transform them into a new kind of politics. It is observed that consciousness of being part of a particular hegemonic force is the step towards a higher level of self consciousness in which theory and practice is one ( Richard Levins: 338:1990). This is achieved through a struggle of political hegemonies and opposing directions before attaining one’s conception of a single and coherent conception of the world. Hegemony necessarily supposes an intellectual unity and an ethic in conformity with a conception of reality that has gone beyond common sense. Critical self consciousness means historically and politically, the creation of intellectuals and the cooperative movement has produced a numerous number of organic intellectuals. Their stories are difficult, full of contradictions, retreats and advances. But one thing is sure, they think and act independently with a deeply rooted love of country.
The features in the cooperative framework that sets it apart from the capitalist enterprises. The core values of open and voluntary membership, democratic control, economic participation of members, patronage refund and limited interest on capital, continuing education and cooperation among cooperatives.
An amount for the education and training fund, which shall be not more than per centum of net surplus. The by laws may provide that certain fees or fines or a portion thereof be credited to such fund ( Pimentel and Cua, 1994: 133).

The particularities of the training and education fund’s utilization are mainly through popular education. A prominent approach has been Lakbay Aral where cooperatives in scattered locations discover new knowledge in terms of successes and failures in a conscious, active, educational intervention based on their every day experience and face to face interactions. With their resources, the movement has developed a process of popular education that enabled their intellectuals to remain organic with direct and coordinated participation in local, national and global levels.
Critical self-consciousness means historically and politically, the creation of an elite of intellectuals. A human mass does not distinguish itself, does not become independent in its own right without, the widest sense, organizing itself and there is no organization without intellectuals, that is, without organizers and leaders, in other words, what the theoretical aspect of the theory and practice nexus being distinguished concretely by the existence of a group of people specialized in conceptual and philosophical elaboration of ideas ( Sassoon, 1987:177).

Cooperatives provide education through participation and involvement. A specific case is the Zamboanga College of Engineering and Technology Cooperative School. It has been made more popular because of the support of primary cooperatives by enrolling their daughters and sons. The members of this cooperative are parents who thought of supporting an affordable type of education.
In 1995, the Philippine Cooperative Center (PCC) was established. Comprising the core of PCC are major aggrupations of cooperatives with particular specificities and histories; 14 national organizations, 8 regional and 12 leading primary cooperatives (Teodosio, 2004: 191). It is the largest cooperative formation and convenes the national summits every two years. Two major projects of the PCC involved building partnerships for good governance and cooperative education.
The project on Effective Local Governance and Support Mechanisms for Sustainable Cooperative Development resulted in a resource and training manual on cooperative and local government partnerships. The modules covered the integration of cooperative development and local development and investment plans; the establishment and regulation of provincial cooperative development offices; the development of cooperative- LGU joint undertakings in basic services and local enterprises; and advocacy and training development. The trend towards greater decentralization of government services and participation by the key players has contributed to their institutional strengthening .
The Cooperative Education in Ilocos Norte ( CEIN) was another project with the support of the Cooperative Center of Denmark. The modules and other instructional materials were developed in cooperation with the membership of cooperatives and were written in the dialect. Beneficiaries of the education program were 4,000 members, majority of whom were women. CEIN activities took place through a network of partner cooperatives. Every cooperative in the network selected its own facilitator and CEIN trained the facilitators to use the education materials. The facilitators came from the local areas.
The Philippine Federation of Credit Cooperatives (PFCCO) is a member of PCC. It is represented in all parts of the country: Northwestern Luzon League of Cooperatives, Northeast Luzon Credit Cooperative League, Central Luzon Region League, Southern Luzon Region League, Visayas Credit Union League, Bicol Credit Union League and the National Capital Region League. The PFCCO is a partner of the Asian Confederation of Credit Unions (ACCU). In 2003, the regional forum held in Malaysia centered on a CEOs and an HRD Workshop. There were also sessions for the youth called the as the Future Leaders’ Workshop and a Women Workshop. The ACCU extended various professionalization programs such as product development and organization and development of management tools.
Another major partner of the PCC is the National Confederation of Cooperatives (NATCCO). In the 2004 May election, the NATCCO party list won one seat. The current chairperson of the CDA, had been elected first woman leader of the NATCCO board since its establishment in 1977.
NATCCO is the secretariat of the Asian Women in Cooperative Development Forum (ACWF). The central discourse for AWCF is a transformative leadership that would ensure the development of policies, programs and services that are gender sensitive and responsive ( ACWF: 2003). This perspective has been introduced in the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam.
The First National Summit of Women in Cooperatives took place in Banaue, Ifugao in 2003. To date, the Summit has resulted in eight congresses for the National Capital Region, regions 1,3,5,6,11 and 12. The regional congress held in Lake Cebu, South Cotabato drew attention to the unequal distribution of wealth largely because of the exploitative practices of traders and capitalists. The women leaders felt that they can only advance their interests if they have political education and training to increase their individual and communal capacity for community enterprises. An approach that has been implemented is to involve a network of women educators known for their creative process of technical expertise from below to share their skills, knowledge and experience. Similarly, the Southern Tagalog Council of Women in Cooperatives has undertaken quite a number of trainings and seminar/workshops. The group, calling themselves, Buklod Filipina, intends to participate in the 2007 election as a party list.
Popular education is a process of networks across geographical barriers. The ideological foundation of empowered principles such as social justice and an equitable distribution of income has been a compelling argument of organic intellectuals. The needs and concerns of the local people serve as the basis for an alternative committed adult education program. The central influence in dealing with structural problems of poverty is a recurring theme of self-help, cooperation, network and consensus building.
Cooperatives as Counter –Hegemony
There are no silver bullets in shaping civil society-state relations but as what has been pointed out by Gramsci, the intellectual development of the working class is the only basis for the development of a counter-hegemony. In particular, he emphasized the importance of organic intellectuals and not the traditional ones, who described as being in the “business” of consciousness in support of the status quo.
The country’s cooperative movement accounts for billions of pesos in total deposits in commercial banks and has thousands of members. It is both the result and premise in the restructuring of civil society- state relations. It has been submerged, restructured and strengthened by successive generations. Various types of cooperatives have emerged and are identified with a wide range of interests. Creation of wealth is an integral part of contemporary lexicon. As active forces supporting social change, the vibrant cooperative movement has not lost sight of the vast inequalities in power and wealth embedded in free markets.
There is the ability of to scale up activities with big business. A case in point is the cooperative-business relations exemplified by the San Miguel Corporation (SMC). Cassava is a product that is well known with cooperatives. A typical partnership arrangement is that of the cooperative, the SMC and the local state. Activities include enrolment of farm lands and technology transfer trainings for the farmers. The options could be a joint venture agreement, a growership contract, or a lease. For the joint venture, the farm inputs and cultivation of the cassava farm will come from the joint efforts of the farmer and the SMC. In the growership contract, the farmers cultivate their cassava farm and a supply and purchase agreement between the farmer and SMC. In the lease contract, the farmer agrees to let SMC lease his land and cultivate the cassava farm where the latter will provide all the farm inputs and the farmer gains an income through the lease that will be paid by the SMC. The local state usually provides support for the training and the organizing. Mindanao based plantation cooperatives are mostly into banana and pineapple while Luzon based are into cassava.
In 2006, the Federation of Cooperatives in the Calamianes covering the four islands of Coron, Busuanga, Linapacan and Culion has embarked on a 750 hectare cassava plantation project in cooperation also with San Miguel Corporation. Earlier in 2004, a network of farmers cooperatives initiated a 296 hectare abaca plantation project in joint venture with Aquinas University Foundation.
As a real network with a coherent independent agenda, it offers a distinct understanding of models of a counter-hegemonic force.
On health concerns, the Novaliches Development Cooperative (NOVADECI) that celebrates its 30 years this year, is an advocate. Founded in 1976, NOVADECI is recognized as one of the premier cooperatives in the country. Sixty percent of the members are small market vendors while the rest are self employed professionals. The females represent seventy percent of the collectivity.
A savings and credit cooperative, NOVADECI started its health insurance services in 1993. The program was designed specifically to target members of the cooperative and their families. To qualify, an applicant must have a fixed deposit of at least PhP 1,250 and pay one time membership of PhP 200 and an annual contribution of PhP 600. In return, members are provided with free medical consultations, free maternity care, free annual check ups, discounted laboratory examinations and dental and optical services. The members are also provided hospitalization benefits of PhP 10,000 while immediate members PhP 5,000. The cooperative has a medical clinic and a pharmacy. To date, its membership stands at 14,000. NOVADECI is deeply embedded in various organizations such as NATTCO, TAGCODEC ( Tagalog Cooperative) and the PCC. It plans to branch out through the creation of satellite offices and the expansion of its Training Center.
On sharing resources and expertise, the TAO Management Service and Multi-Purpose Cooperative (TAO), organized in 2000 with a capital of PhP 15,000 from the contribution of its 15 founding members, has helped create an entrepreneurial climate. In 2002, TAO was asked to be a partner with the Pasig City’s Bayanihang Paluwagan sa Pasig project that encourages the poor to generate savings every week. TAO facilitated the weekly meetings. In 2005, TAO again served as a conduit in another local government’s initiative, Easy Pondong Pangnegosyo.
In its six years of operation, the cooperative has accumulated an asset of PhP 12 million and some 4,000 members. There are 200 groups being assisted by the cooperative in the livelihood projects of the local government. In 2005, TAO was named the Pinakapiling Kooperatiba Na May Natatanging Kakayahan during Pasig City’s cooperative month celebration. Also recognized as Huwarang Mga Koop ng Pasig were: Sto. Rosario Parish Credit Cooperative; Kilus Foundation Environmental and Multi-Purpose Cooperative; Pasig City Employees MultiPurpose Cooperative; Jolibee Foods Corporation Employees MultiPurpose Cooperative; and Fil-Estate MultiLine Cooperative. The cooperatives were chosen on the basis of excellent performance in organizational management, economic activities and social activities. Note that the cooperative representation cuts across all types of sectors.
It is also in Pasig where the Samahang Ikauunlad ng May Kapansanan Ating Palawakin (SIKAP) Multi-Purpose Cooperative holds office. The cooperative fabricates school chairs and coconut coir plant hangers. The school chairs are sold in local market while the plant hangers are exported. When their company folded up, using their separation pay, eight founders of the cooperative pooled their resources and engaged in the business of rattan craft manufacturing themselves. Their future plans include the blind masseur home service and rice dealership. They are also setting up a musical band. SIKAP members have disabilities ranging from leg amputation, hearing impairment, hand deformity to blindness.
The Cooperative Development Office in Pasig City has its quarterly publication, the Pasig Cooperative News. In its latest report, a state agency, the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), aims to launch the Kasosyo project with the consumer and producer cooperatives in the different regions for a Provincial and National Commodity Exchange Centers. The local governments are expected to provide the leadership necessary to sustain the partnership. On 24 February 2006, TESDA conducted an orientation with Metro Manila cooperatives. TAO was a participant.
On 31 January 2006, the CDA Manila Extension Office facilitated the reorganization of the Regional Development Council (RCDC). The main goal of the RCDC is to promote and assist in the implementation of cooperative plans and programs in the 14 cities and 3 municipalities comprising the National Capital Region as well as recommend policies. The Pasig City Cooperative Coordinating Council made a committed promise to assist in the revitalization of the regional council.
There has been much discussion on the growing number of people who have lost their jobs due to downsizing. An increasing number of organizations are deconstructing hierarchies and eliminating more and more middle management in the so-called search for quality and productivity in Philippine industries. The economy has undergone a fundamental transformation in the nature of work brought on by the new information communication technologies. The production of goods and services are becoming increasingly automated as society undergoes the shift from mass labor to highly skilled labor. The reality is that the world is polarized into two forces: an information elite that controls and manages the high tech global global economy and on the other, the permanently displaced workers with few prospects for a meaningful employment. The flexible labor market has introduced more temporary jobs than regular ones. The global economy, restructuring and outsourcing have forced new questions and has set the stage for a debate, in particular, on the future of organizing workers’ interests. The new economic system is increasingly based on information, technology and services which are less dependent on the control of territory. Flexibility and network coordination needed to be embedded in an environment rich in a collective good such as integrated communities.
Cooperative values of using enterprises to create the jobs, humane work methods and partnership have given rise to workers cooperatives. The Labor Code only covered the smaller segment labor force, that is, those in the formal sector. In the process, the increasing number of workers in the informal sector has to fend for themselves. The labor process is re-oriented between essential and the non-essential activites. The latter were sourced out either to the traditional manpower agencies or workers cooperatives. Given a Labor Code that has not been amended for the past 32 years and with more in temporary employment or contract work, workers themselves have learned to design and manage the process of organizational evolution.
An inspiration is the most famous workers industrial cooperative in the world, the Mondragon Cooperative, with 103 small and medium sized enterprises, in the Basque region of Northern Spain (Woodworth, 2000: 316). Its vision was to create jobs premised on the democratic ideal of a labor-managed economy. The first worker enterprise was established in 1956 in the town of Mondragon after the civil war. In 1960, the cooperative formations formed a support organization, the Caja Laboral Popular (The People’s Savings Bank). As a source of funding and expertise services, Mondragon prospered and expanded. During the 1908s, about 5 per cent of Spain’s national output in certain consumer goods was attributed to Mondragon. In the 1990s, the Caja Laboral Popular had over 300,000 individual depositors and assets in excess of 3 billion dollars. Annual sales in recent years have grown to over 5 billion dollars. The new realities have also resulted in Mondragon re-examining systems of ownership and enterprise development.
In the Philippines, the AsiaPro Cooperative has diversified services and engagements with nationwide operations. In 2005, it has 19,000 self employed members and a working capital of PhP 101 million from PhP 3 million in 2001. The cooperative is into credit and financial services, franchised operations, subcontracting and business process outsourcing. The members are all owners contributing capital and sharing in the surplus. AsiaPro aims to organize non-regular workers for decent livelihood and better economic opportunities, to provide industry with productivity and competitiveness to transform marginal income earners into a new middle class.
In 2002, the Social Security Commission filed a petition against AsiaPro to declare itself as an employer and must register as such. AsiaPro contended that no employee-employer relations exists between said cooperative and its owner-members. On 5 January 2006, the Court of Appeals upheld the position of AsiaPro that its member-workers are all self-employed. In reclaiming an alternative, the boldness of an AsiaPro has been repeatedly questioned. But the fact remains that resources for the exercise of choice imply basic economic security. The struggle for resources includes control over the circumstances of work and the nature of what is produced. Only when immediate survival needs are met can people devote their energy and imagination to long range issues.
More illustrative cases include:
First Community Cooperative. Founded in 1954 with 17 members. Currently, it has 49,000 members with resources of more that PhP one billion. In Northern Mindanao, it has the distinction of being a major financial intermediary of the poor.
Baguio Benguet Community Credit Cooperative. Fifteen teachers started this cooperative in 1958. Membership now stands at 14,500 and extends a number of various types of sucha as petty cash, special contingency, educational, pre-need and emergency assistance. Its outreach program has benefited 40 scholars and 100 street children. It just completed a seven storey building for a conference hall and lodging facilities. The members invested PhP 70 million for the building.
San Dionisio Credit Cooperative. Started its operations in 1961 with 28 founding members with PhP 380 capitalization. It is into credit granting, savings and time deposits, consumer services, bayad center, pre-school and drug store. It recently opened an elementary school. Full time personnel is 64. To date, its total assets amount to PhP 213 million with 8,124 members.
Lingayen Catholic Credit Cooperative organized in 1964 with 29 members and an initial capital of PhP 619 .To date, the cooperative has 14,067 members composed of farmers, fisherfolks, women, youth, teachers, employees and businessmen with a net surplus of PhP 12 million. It has 20 full time personnel. In partnership with the local government, it participates in environmental programs such as garbage collection, cleanliness and flood control. It also assists in the promotion of gender development programs.
Sta.Ana Multi-Purpose Cooperative. Organized in Davao City in 1967. With an initial 25 members, the cooperative is into savings deposits, loans, consumer store, mutual benefit services, health services and residential land development. It has established bulk buying for merchandise goods and construction of a hospital. It has 11,005 members and total assets of PhP 224 million.
Sorosoro Ibaba Development Cooperative. The benefits and services of the cooperative include free medical check up, hospitalization benefits, scholarship grants to members and employees, mortuary aid, barangay development funds, systems for pollution control, official pulications and job opportunities. The business activities are feed milling, contract growing, mini- mart operation, meat stalls, hog selling, a convenience store, rice milling, slaughterhouse operation and a cooperative mart.
The Antique Federation of Cooperatives was organized in 1969. In 33 years, it now has 52 affliates. The Federation is linked not only with the cooperative agenda but also has been actively involved in implementing programs and projects related to the environment, health, agricultural development. The Federation is a member of different local special bodies like the Municipal Development Councils, Provincial Development Councils. An affiliate of the Antique Federation of NGOs, Western Union of Cooperatives and the National Confederation of Cooperatives. Its international networks are Robobank in the Netherlands. It has embarked on the agri-business of ube plantation and processing.
Cebu Court of First Instance Community Cooperative. Founded in 1970, with 29 members. The cooperative now has 11,500 members with more than PhP 500 million in assets. Apart from savings and credit assistance, livelihood projects on swine breeding and fattening, mango seedlings, it has its own clinic with complete laboratory and x-ray facilities. In 1994, it opened a Cooperative Learning Center that offers a full-fledged
elementary school. The students of Don Bosco Technical School are yearly recipients of financial assistance.
Tabuk Multi-Purpose Cooperative. Started with 33 members and a starting capital of PhP 1,235 in 1971. The membership grew to 7,125 and total assets of PhP 274 million. Current business activities include credit extension, banking, marketing, mortuary aid, conduct of seminars, palay drying, drugstore and healthcare and lodging.
Lamac Multi-Purpose Cooperative. Existed since 1973 as the Lamac Samahang Nayon. Multi-awarded, the cooperative employs 54 and its services include savings and credit, consumer store, catering, livestock and poultry production, rice and corn store, mortuary, water and ornamentals.
Mindanao State University Iligan Institute of Technology. Started its credit operation in 1978 with 60 members and operated as a cooperative in 1979. It has 5,688 members including university students. Apart from savings and credit, it is into consumer goods, photocopying and coop academy. The volume of business has reached PhP 43 million.
Aces Credit Cooperative Development. Started in 1981 with 26 members with an initial PhP 200 thousand working capital. Its branches are located in the major bases of the Philippine Air Force. It now has a total asset of PhP 2 billion with 17,000 members. Its focus is on livelihood, housing and other welfare programs.
Barangka Credit Cooperative. Founded in 1986 with 37 cooperators and PhP 5,300 as seed capital, the cooperative now has two other branches with a total of 8,000 members. Affiliations include the Metro South Coop Bank and the World Oranization of Credit Unions. Asset is 152 million, loan portfolio of 90.5 per cent and delinquency rate of 5 per cent.
Nagkakaisang Magsasaka Agricultural Primary Multi-Purpose Cooperative in Talavera, Nueva Ecija. Organized in 1989 by 16 farmers. Membership increased to 308 and total assets reached PhP 16 million. It is into palay and input trading, hog feeds, truck rental and a mini bank. The amount of PhP 5.7 million was distributed as patronage refund to the members in 2002.
DMPI Employees Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Cooperative (DEARBC). The cooperative is based in Camp Philips, Manolo Fortich, Bukidnon since 1991. Its operation covers over 8 ,000 hectares. The cooperative implemented the capital build up approach through salary deduction for active members and direct payments for the retired employees. It has investments in a wide range of business from technology to agriculture which include a cable network as well as coffee, papaya and other agricultural projects. Its outreach program include tree planting, bantay tubig, youth, fire brigade, gender integration, municipal development council and peace and order involvement.
Dingle Government Workers’ Credit Cooperative. A community based cooperative with 40 members in 1993, has a two-storey building whose membership is mostly public school teachers. Its area of cooperation covers the City of Iloilo and its business is worth PhP 39 million. Membership stands at 637. The cooperative is into distribution of water, cutflower , poultry and swine growing and health care. It undertakes extension services not only for its members but for the community at large.
Del Monte Philippines Employees Credit Cooperative. This is a cooperative with 3,000 members operates in Cagayan de Oro and the whole province of Misamis Oriental. Apart from savings and credit, it assists other agencies in the campaign against drugs, supports nutrition program and provides aid to typhoon and fire victims.
Conclusion
Gramsci has argued that civil society is an arena, separate from the state and the market, in which ideological hegemony is contested, implying that civil society contains a wide range of different organizations that both uphold and challenge the existing order. Products of a long history of collective action and over time the increasing number of memberships can only mean increasing influence. But oftentimes, their capacity to mobilize remains at the micro level. Insufficient attention has been paid to the variety of locations where solidarity, community, collective action and authenticity can be generated in the complex interaction between cooperatives and the state. Cooperatives play a central role to any discussion of participatory governance because they help define and legitimate state power. They are institutional actors that engage in purposive action in order to pursue their objectives of service, mutual help and social enterprise. It is an organic phenomenon that is permanent and has reached historical significance. The cooperative formations have a tight network that has gained ascendancy. They represent counter-culture in terms of participatory discourses, choices and action for collective projects from a counter-hegemonic perspective. Grounded as an alternative vision, the cooperatives of the Filipinos are inclusive collectivities characterized by a democratic space that continue to attract massive numbers of new members.

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