- CHERYL G. CRUZ
The Sangguniang Panlungsod of Bacolod amended a section in Ordinance 977-2021, which declares every October as the Bacolod City Cooperative Month.
Councilor Jude Thaddeus Sayson, who authored the amendatory ordinance, said during the SP regular session this afternoon, June 14, that Section 4 of CO 977 states that “every last Friday of October will be the highlight day of the Bacolod City Cooperative Month, and the City Cooperative and Livelihood Development Office (CCLDO) shall conduct activities on this day to promote cooperativism”.
Sayson said that since October is also the month of the MassKara Festival celebration, and the last week usually the highlight days, the observance of the cooperative month is not being given enough attention.
He proposed that the Bacolod City Development Council be given the authority to decide or determine the date of the cooperativism highlight.
The SP, under suspended rules, approved Sayson’s proposal on first, second, then third and final reading.
CO 977, authored by Councilor Israel Salanga and passed Dec. 9, 2021, aims to “give attention to cooperatives by providing programs and extending recognitions to foster growth”.
The CCLDO, in consultation and coordination with the City Mayor’s Office and the Committee on Cooperatives and Livelihood Development Office of the SP, has been tasked to prepare and conduct activities and programs that will promote the principles and values of cooperatives and encourage cooperative movement.
An annual budget of P500,000, to be taken from the General Fund, has been earmarked in the implementation of the ordinance./CGC
