CDA commits to helping IP-led cooperatives – Manila Bulletin

The Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) has signed a partnership with the Integrated Bar Association of the Philippines (IBP) and the National Commission for Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) to provide additional assistance to Indigenous Cultural Communities (ICCs) and Indigenous Peoples (IPs). ) for the registration and promotion of the growth of their cooperatives.

“The IPs continue to struggle to ensure economic development in their ancestral domains despite all the resources at their disposal,” the CDA said on Tuesday, April 5.

This prompted CDA to provide additional assistance and assist ICC/IPs in organizing and registering their cooperatives, as well as “fostering the growth” of PI-led cooperatives across the Philippines.

One of the objectives of the said partnership was to empower IPs to access financial assistance and loans for financing their own projects and to educate IPs on the benefits of entrepreneurship.

Meanwhile, according to the CDA, the IBP has agreed to “provide legal assistance” to ICC/IPs wishing to organize and register their own cooperative, while the NCIP, on the other hand, has pledged to extend the assistance and actualization of Free and Prior Informed Consent (FPIC) to ensure the growth and development of ICC/IP-led cooperatives in the country.

The signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOA) took place at the IBP building on March 16, 2022, the CDA said.