Onward to the Silver year and beyond Year 2017 is here and we are on our 25th year as a cooperative! As we celebrate AMCOOP’s silver anniversary, it’s a perfect time to look back at how we fared in the past years. The year 2016 defined us as a cooperative. Congratulations, because together we have reached new heights with the bold moves we took for the many victories of our businesses and for the welfare and benefit of our member-workers! Perhaps our most significant feat in 2016 is the launching of the AMCOOP Foundation. It is our pride to have this new program meant to reach out to our communities and contribute to the well-being of our environment. Through the foundation we were able to grant scholarships to hundreds of our member-workers’ deserving dependents. The program is also our way to provide them livelihoods and lands for housing. We’ve made important business decisions in 2016. We opened the doors of AMCOOP Suites, a 12-room classy hotel which undoubtedly provides the best accommodation in Polomolok and the neighboring towns. We launched the Rapide Car Care Center and the Banawe Car Accessories Store which are now considered as the best places in town for car concerns. Sharing the same space with the two is our AMCOOP Sea Oil Gas Station providing the EURO 4 standard gas and oils. Our cooperative took notches higher as Davao Branch received from Department of Labor and Employment the Certificate of Compliance on General Labor Standards and Occupational Safety and Health Standards. Our Cebu Branch was awarded the ISO 9001:2008 Certification for Quality Management Systems. With new projects coming in and with the aggressive shifts in business strategies, rebranding was our best option. Amidst changes and challenges, we are now an AMCOOP that is bigger, bolder and better. Our new logo says a lot about us, the new us that is well ready to take on the future. It was never really all glory in 2016 and the past years. We’ve had our toughest times but we survived as one. I would like to take this opportunity to commend our teams led by our respective branch managers who are never afraid to always innovate to make the cooperative more responsive to the needs of the members and more competitive in its industries. I am so much proud of the whole team for guiding the cooperative to make it this far.
We are in the midst of another promising year. More projects are in the pipeline. I am excited and I know you are too. I leave no promises but to continue to lead to ensure we are making profound social impact in the communities and the lives of our members and for us to continue to become a relevant institution, even beyond the silver year! Cheers!
Sailing further together Another year has passed and we are a year stronger again. Let this be my message of gratitude to all AMCOOP members for helping grow our cooperative. Thank you for being consistent with your support to all our ventures. This level of success that we have gained will never be possible if not because of you. You, our members, are the heart of the AMCOOP mission. Thank you for understanding and giving your best in each of your individual roles in this cooperative. Looking back from 5 to 10 years ago, we were not able then to hold big events such as our recent Christmas Party and yearend celebrations. Well, you know why. But progress is at hand. We have grown by number in terms of membership, by amount of assets and by type and quality of products and services for our members, clients and stakeholders. You are all the building blocks that complete the whole that is AMCOOP. Thank you for growing with us all through the years. Thank you for standing by since the days of our humble beginnings to what we are today. To our pioneers who are still here, you are our mentors. To all our members, you are all our inspiration. Growing this cooperative is indeed an adventure. There are ups and downs, we slip, we stumble but we become better with all the lessons these challenges brought us. Look where we are now. Undeniably, we are now one of the best cooperatives in the country. This was just once a dream of our pioneering members. It is now a reality for us all. My deepest gratitude goes out to our CEO, Sir Rodolfo “Jhune” Corpuz, too. Your leadership is the sail that leads this big ship out of the turbulent waters to the land of progress. Ladies and gentlemen, as we sail further, rest assured that the leadership will remain consistent with our promise to provide the highest standard of business superiority to you and all our stakeholders. We commit to remain for our communities. This is our continuing gift to you. Have a blessed 2017!
Editor in Chief:
Rodolfo Corpuz, Jr.
EDITORIAL & Creative Team: Atty. Eufemio Simtim, Jr. Warren Cahayag Jane Torreon Chymn Maru Youngy Parami Maecel Gonora Jairah Areno Renbran Madelo Dexter Suarez Charlie Pelaez Catherine Calar Cristy Amor Gilvero Michelle Briones
PHOTO CONTRIBUTORS: Mikael Paolo Sison Louie Pacardo BOARD OF DIRECTORS: Chairperson:
Venus Rivera Members:
Melvin Auza Henry Pedroso, Sr. Ma. Luz Sanchez
AMCOOP joins global coop forum for sustainable future of communities
T
he AMCOOP represented by CEO Rodolfo Corpuz, Jr., joined more than 600 leaders from India and the Asia Pacific Region to discuss about the roles of cooperatives in the sustainability of communities. The 12th International Cooperative AllianceAsia Pacific (ICA-AP) Regional Assembly and 9th Cooperative Forum was held in New Delhi, India last November 15 to 19, 2016 with the theme: “Cooperatives: the power to act for a sustainable future”. Mr. Corpuz’s attendance was also to represent the country as a member of the Board of Directors of Union of Labor Service Cooperatives in the
Philippines. Corpuz said the bi-annual assembly highlighted the roles of cooperatives as an efficient economic and social channel and as an opportunity for empowerment for all sectors in the society. Cooperativers can lead too in implementing programs for the sustainability of communities it serves, he added. In its website, www. ica-ap.coop, ICA-AP expounds that the forum recognized these roles as highlighted by the noted accomplishments of cooperatives around the region which are as follows: responding to natural disasters through Nepal Cooperative
Movement’s response to earthquake; addressing emerging needs such as aging by Singapore National Cooperative Federation in Singapore; adopting technological
Sir Jhune Corpuz joins the members of International Cooperative Alliance-Asia Pacific and other forum participants in a posterity photo.
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innovations by the National Agricultural Co-operative Federation in Korea, and; building workers movement by Uralungal Labour Contract Cooperative Society in India. Equally, the forum also highlighted the importance of working in partnership with governments to create a broad-based movement. Among those are the initiatives to transform cooperatives by aligning
with national priorities by Angkata Koperasi Kebangsaan Malaysia Berhad in Malaysia, the policies to enable inclusive growth in cooperatives by the Cooperative Development Authority in the Philippines, and supportive incentives to promote growth of cooperatives by Iran Central Chamber of Cooperatives in Iran. Corpus said, locally, AMCOOP programs are in parallel with the principles endorsed by the assembly. “We have been active with our local programs to promote sustainability of our communities, we have been prioritizing the welfare and sustainability of our member-workers and their families”, he said. One of newest AMCOOP programs that responds primarily to the needs for sustainability of communities include the launching of AMCOOP Cooperative Foundation. “The foundation grants scholarship to
our member-workers’ dependents. The foundation will also facilitate the distribution of lands for housing of our members and this will be supported by livelihood programs such as poultry and swine raising”, the CEO said. Through the foundation, additional support will be given by providing jobs for unemployed members’ dependents through the tailoring of Personnel Protective Equipment Uniforms for the workers. The foundation will also look into addressing environmental issues within its communities. “We are one with the AP region in looking at these community concerns”, Corpuz said. The regional assembly and forum was hosted by the National Cooperative Union of India (NCUI) and the Indian co-operative movement. The Forum is a biennial event organized by ICA-AP in conjunction with the Regional Assembly. The next Regional Assembly will likely be held in Iran in 2018. o
Warren Cahayag In what could be the most unforgettable event in the entire existence of the Adventurers Multipurpose Cooperative (AMCOOP), thousands of its members and their families gathered together to celebrate the first ever Family Day and Celebrity Night last December 10, 2016 in Polomolok. As the coop comes close to reaching its 25th foundation year, members and their families were treated like VIPs in a series of events letting them experience the real meaning of the Yuletide Season. It was indeed a season to be merry as AMCOOP’s flagship program dubbed as “Ang Pasko Ay Pamilya” got region-wide attention when members of various media outlets in the nearby city of General Santos covered the whole day event in DOLEFIL Gym.
Members and their families relished the unforgettable event amidst treats from popular fastfood stores in the region and the whole country such as Jollibee, Chowking, Greenwich, Red Ribbon and Brewery 99. No one missed any chance to delight their palate with mouth-watering goodies and signature foods. Children were also allowed to experience kiddie rides and interactive electronic games provided by top game arcades in the region. Santa Claus did his part too by showering the kids with sweet surprises of candies and chocolates and series of parlor games. Indeed, it was a day of fun and joy as the whole Dolefil Gym was filled corner to corner with members and their families so as officers and
employees of AMCOOP. The joyous occasion did not end after the sun has set. It lasted until late that night as prominent celebrities from Manila flocked to Polomolok Municipal Gymnasium for the Christmas concert organized only by AMCOOP. The attending members filling the 10,000-seater gym were treated with songs, dances, comedic acts and raffling of prizes during the celebrity night. Artists gracing the event were comedians and impersonators Ate Gay and Regina, pop acoustic star TJ Monterde and sultry actress and singer Arci Muñoz who all made the night even more memorable. The celebration did not end just like that. With the launching of AMCOOP Foundation, members and their families once again witnessed with elation as the officers and members of the board presented the 100 students (children of AMCOOP members)
who were selected as the first batch of scholars by the cooperative. The scholars selected via application process shall be granted free tuition and miscellaneous fees, along with free books and school uniforms and a pair of shoes and a personalized AMCOOP bag. Not only that, each scholar is entitled to receive a monthly allowance of P500 for those in elementary level and P700 for those in secondary level. The Foundation also introduced to its members the 140 beneficiaries of the latest endeavor dubbed as the Upper Klinan Project, more known as the AMCOOP Housing Project. The said memberrecipients were selected via application process. Upon completing all the requirements, they were awarded with the housing loan with maturity of up to five years. In a chithcat with Sir Rodolfo “Jhune” Corpuz, Jr., the dynamic CEO of AMCOOP, he said that all these are just the beginning of something bigger and
better. “This has always been our battlecry - to alleviate the status of member-workers and give them the best benefits possible. This is who we are—the AMCOOP Family.” Sir Corpuz also disclosed during the event that the coop has already procured a land for the establishment of a five-storey AMCOOP Tertiary Hospital. The said construction of a prime medical facility will start in 2017 in time for the cooperative’s silver anniversary. As of writing, the number of AMCOOP members all over the country has already breached the 23,000 mark. AMCOOP is serving partner multi-national companies since 1992 being a legitimate job contracting cooperative. It started with only three hundred members and from its humble beginnings it has become one of the largest cooperatives in the country today. Some of AMCOOP’s partner companies include
DOLE Philippines, Ayala Realty Development Corporation, Makati Development Corporation, Century Pacific Agricultural Ventures, RD Realty and PhilBest Canning Corporation. At present, AMCOOP has branches in Iloilo, Manila, Cebu, Bacolod, Davao, Cagayan de Oro, General Santos and its main office at Muñez Subdivision in Polomolok, South Cotabato. AMCOOP is not only focused on getting high-end clients but it also embraces membersoriented businesses. In the recent years, it ventured into gasoline stations, autoshop, values stores and accommodation services and facilities and restaurant. On January 06, 2017, the formerly low profile cooperative will be celebrating its 25th year of existence. AMCOOP which used to be a virtually unknown cooperative in the countryside of Polomolok is now making waves nationwide. o
