BLR Law
BLR Law
BLR Law
OBJECTIVES :
• It also acquires lands and provides housing benefits for its member.
•Promotes and advances the economic, social, and educational status of its
members.
• It has the power to exclusively use its registered name, to sue and be sued,
and the power of succession.
• it has the power to amend its articles of cooperation, to adopt bylaws, which
is not contrary to law, moral or public policy, and to amend and repeal the
same.
•It has the power to deal with real and personal property, and enter into
division, merger, or consolidation.
• has the power to form subsidiary cooperatives and join federations and
union.
•It has the power to avail of loans, credits, grants, donations from domestic
and foreign sources and to avail PREPERENTIAL RIGHTS under RA 7160
(local government code o 1191)
TYPES OF COOPERATIVE (n)
• CREDIT COOPERATIVES promotes and undertakes savings and lending
services among its members.
Regular meetings of the general assembly shall be held annually, while special
meetings may be called at any time by a majority vote of the board of directors
or as provided for in the bylaws. The CDA may call for a special meeting for the
purpose of reporting to the members the result of any examination or other
investigation of the cooperative affairs." A quorum shall consist of at least 25%
of all the members entitled to vote but in the case of cooperative banks, the
quorum shall be one-half plus one of the number of voting shares of all the
members in good standing in accordance with Article 99 of the law. In the case
of electric cooperatives, a quorum shall consist of 5% of all the members
entitled to vote, unless otherwise provided in the bylaws.? As to the voting
system, each member of a primary cooperative shall have only one vote, while
members of secondary or tertiary cooperatives shall have one basic vote and as
many incentive votes as provided for in the bylaws but not to exceed five votes.
Board of Directors (b)
Unless otherwise provided in the bylaws, the direction and management of the affairs
of a cooperative shall be vested in a board of directors which shall be composed of 5 to
15 members elected by the general assembly for a term of two years unless removed for
cause.
The members of the board of directors shall not hold any other position directly
involved in the day-to-day operation and management of the cooperative. Any member
of a cooperative who has the right to vote and who possesses all the qualifications and
none of the disqualifications provided in the laws or bylaws shall be eligible for election
as a director. Any person engaged in a business similar to that of the cooperative or who
in any way has a conflict of interest with it is disqualified from election as a director of
the said cooperative.
The chairperson and vice-chairperson shall be elected by the board of directors from
among themselves. They shall appoint the officers of the cooperative who shall not be
members of the board and shall not be removed except for cause after due hearing. Loss
of confidence is not a valid ground for removal unless there is proof of acts or omission
causing loss of confidence in the honesty and integrity of such officer.
Regular meetings of the board of directors of primary cooperatives shall be
held at least once a month, while special meetings may be called at any time by
the chairperson or a majority of the members of the board. Unless the bylaws
provide otherwise, a majority of the members of the board shall constitute a
quorum for the conduct of business, and directors cannot attend or vote by proxy
at board meetings.
Relatives within the third civil degree of consanguinity or affinity and those
persons engaged in a business similar to that of the cooperative or who have
interests in conflict with the cooperative shall not be appointed as officers.
Committees of the Cooperative (y)
The bylaws may create an executive committee to be appointed by the
board of directors with such powers and duties as may be delegated to it in
the bylaws or by a majority vote of all the members of the board of
directors. The bylaws shall provide for the creation of an audit, election,
mediation and conciliation, ethics, and such other committees as may be
necessary for the conduct of the affairs of the cooperative. The members of
both the audit and election committee shall be elected by the general
assembly and the members of the other committees shall be appointed by
the board. The audit committee shall be directly accountable and
responsible to the general assembly and shall continuously monitor the
adequacy and effectiveness of the cooperative's management control system
and audit the performance of the cooperative and its various responsibility
centers.
Liability for Damages and Secret Profits
(n)
Directors, officers, and committee members, who willfully and knowingly
vote for or assent to patently unlawful acts or who are guilty of gross
negligence or bad faith in directing the affairs of the cooperative or acquire
any personal or pecuniary interest in conflict with their duty as such
directors, officers or committee members shall be liable jointly and
severally for all damages or profits resulting there from to the cooperative,
members, and other persons. When they attempt to acquire or acquire, in
violation of their duty, any interest or equity adverse to the cooperative in
respect to any matter which has been reposed in him in confidence, they
shall, as trustees for the cooperative, be liable for damages and shall be
accountable for double the profits which otherwise would have accrued to
the cooperative.
Compensation (b)
In the absence of any provisions in the bylaws fixing their
compensation, the directors shall not receive any
compensation except for reasonable per dies, but they shall
not be entitled to any per diem when, in the preceding
calendar year, the cooperative reported a net loss or had a
dividend rate less than the official inflation rate for the same
year. The compensation of officers of the cooperative as well
as the members of the committees created pursuant to the
Philippine Cooperative Code or its bylaws, may be fixed in
the bylaws. Unless already fixed in the bylaws, the
compensation of all other employees shall be determined by
the board of directors.
Self-dealing Directors, Officers, or Committee
Members (y)
Dissolution (b)
The Board as a collegial body is responsible for policy formulation, strategic planning
and direction setting of the agency. It exercises the following functions:
(1) formulate policies, rules, and regulations; (2) adopt implementing rules and
regulations; (3) organize the operating structure and functions of the CDA; ( approve
the work and financial plan; (5) approve annual, medium-term, and long. term
cooperative development plans; (6) provide overall direction to the CDA; (7) conduct
regular policy consultations; (8) decide cases involving cooperatives; (9) authorize the
Chairperson or the Administrator to enter into contracts or agreements in behalf of
the CDA; (10) approve and submit the annual proposed budget; (11) appoint Deputy
Administrators;6 and (12) formulate rules and regulations and exercise such other
powers as may be required to implement the objectives of R.A.
No. 11364.7
Office of the Administrator
(Y)
The President of the Philippines appoints, upon recommendation of the
board of directors, the Administrator of the CDA, with the rank of an
Assistant Secretary.
The Administrator must be a natural-born Filipino citizen, holder of any
bachelor's degree, possess civil service eligibility, and with five years'
experience as an officer of a cooperative or official or employee in a
government office or NGO dealing with cooperatives. Upon
appointment, he/she shall cease to have any direct or indirect pecuniary
interest or dealings with any cooperative. He/She shall execute an
administer the policies, decisions, orders and resolutions as approved by
the Boar and shall have the general executive direction and supervision
of the work an operation of the CDA.
Registration for Tax Exemption
(y)
The CDA furnishes the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and the local government
units (LGUs) a certified list of duly registered cooperatives for purposes of processing
tax exemptions. Any public official or employee who violates or in any manner
circumvents this provision is dealt with in accordance with Article 140 of the
Philippine Cooperative Code?
The CDA submits to the BIR the Registered Cooperatives Master List, which shall
contain the names of all registered cooperatives and the list shall be updated within
30 days after the close of every calendar year. It also provides the LGUs with an
updated list of registered cooperatives within their jurisdiction within 60 days after
the close of every calendar year.
Prohibition (y)
Except as provided for under Article 130 of the Philippine Cooperative Code, the use
by any person or organization of the word "cooperative" "coop," "co-op" and "koop"
in their business name, unless duly registered with the CDA, shall be prohibited and
shall be penalized under Article 140 of the Philippine Cooperative Code The CDA may
motu proprio initiate complaints about violations of this prohibition,"
Any dispute, controversy, or claim arising out of or relating to the bylaws of the
cooperative, the cooperative laws and related rules, administrative guidelines of
the CDA, including disputes involving members, officers, directors, and committee
members, intra-cooperative disputes, and related issues shall be referred to and
finally resolved by voluntary arbitration under the institutional rules promulgated
by the CDA, after compliance with the conciliation or mediation mechanisms
embodied in the bylaws of the cooperative.13 However, in case of election-related
issues, the aggrieved party may elevate the case for adjudication to the CDA
without undergoing through the alternative dispute resolution.