Policy, purpose, and title
- The State policy is to foster the creation and growth of cooperatives as practical vehicles for promoting self-reliance and harnessing people power towards the attainment of economic development and social justice (Article II).
- The purpose is orderly registration of multipurpose cooperatives in compliance with the requirements under Republic Act No. 9520, its Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations, and relevant administrative issuances by the Authority (Article III).
- The guidelines are known as the Guidelines Governing the Registration of Multipurpose Cooperatives (Article I).
Coverage and core conditions
- These guidelines govern the registration of multipurpose cooperatives and the operation of existing cooperatives registered with the Authority (Article IV).
- No cooperative shall be registered as a multipurpose cooperative unless it has been in operation for at least two (2) years (Article IV).
- Amendments processed under these guidelines follow the same procedural framework as the registration procedures for amendments (Article IX), subject to the specific requirements stated for amendment registration (Article VII).
Defined terms for application
- Agriculture cooperative refers to a primary cooperative whose members engage in raising/culturing plants, animals, fungi, and other living organism for productive and economic purpose, including related activities that reduce cost and/or add value to outputs (Article V(a)).
- Agrarian Reform Cooperative (ARCo) refers to an organization by marginal farmers, majority of whom are Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries, duly registered with the Authority, for land tenure development and related agrarian reform land consolidation/management in areas covered by agrarian reform; it includes Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Cooperative (ARB Coop) as defined in DAR Administrative Order No. 05, Series of 2009 (Article V(b)).
- Amendment means changes for legitimate purposes in any provision in the cooperative’s Articles of Cooperation and By-Laws in accordance with RA 9520 and other Authority issuances (Article V(c)).
- Authority refers to the Cooperative Development Authority (Article V(d)).
- Certificate of Registration of Amendment means the official document issued by the Authority under its official seal, serving as conclusive evidence of the registered amendment (Article V(e)).
- Cooperative means an autonomous and duly registered association of persons with a common interest who voluntarily join to achieve social, economic, and cultural needs and aspirations by making equitable capital contributions, patronizing products and services, and accepting a fair share of risks and benefits in accordance with universally accepted cooperative principles (Article V(f)).
- Multipurpose Cooperative refers to a cooperative combining two (2) or more business/economic activities (Article V(g)).
- Primary Cooperative refers to a cooperative whose members are natural persons except electric cooperatives, water service cooperatives, and other cooperatives the implementing rules and regulations of RA 9520 or the Authority may allow (Article V(h)).
- Paid-up Share Capital means the portion of member share capital that has been paid (Article V(i)).
- Validation means an activity or series of activities aimed at ensuring that the proposed cooperative is organized and registered for the primary purpose and benefit of the intended group (Article V(j)).
Minimum capitalization and amendment registration
- Minimum capitalization rule: With the exception of agriculture cooperatives and agrarian reform cooperatives, only cooperatives with minimum paid-up capital of PHP 100,000.00 or as required in the feasibility study—whichever is higher—may be allowed to transform into a multipurpose cooperative (Article VI).
- Amendment documents required (submitted in Three (3) copies): Registration of amendment requires submission of:
- Cooperative Name Reservation Notice (CNRN), in case of change of name (Article VII, Sec. 1(a));
- Amended Articles of Cooperation and By-Laws (Article VII, Sec. 1(b));
- A Resolution certified by the cooperative’s Secretary and by the majority of the Board of Directors stating that amendments were duly approved by at least two-thirds (2/3) vote of all members with voting rights (Article VII, Sec. 1(c));
- Surety Bond of Accountable Officers (Article VII, Sec. 1(d));
- Audited Financial Statement showing profitable operations for the past two (2) years (Article VII, Sec. 1(e));
- Undertaking to Change Name if another cooperative acquires a prior right to the proposed name (Article VII, Sec. 1(f));
- Favorable Endorsement from Other Government Agencies, if applicable (Article VII, Sec. 1(g));
- Detailed Feasibility Study indicating viability of each proposed business activity (Article VII, Sec. 1(h));
- Certificate that the cooperative complied with auditing and accounting standards prescribed by the Authority (Article VII, Sec. 1(i)).
- Operational-year condition repeats for amendment registration: No cooperative shall be registered as a multipurpose cooperative unless it has been in operation for at least two (2) years (Article VII, Sec. 1).
- Submission format and language rules:
- Documents must be printed in 8.5 x 13 or 8.5 x 14 format (Article VII, Sec. 2).
- Documents may be written in English or Filipino or other local dialect with appropriate English translation (Article VII, Sec. 2).
- As far as practicable, the text should use Bookman Old Style 12 (Article VII, Sec. 2).
- In case of confusion in interpretation of provisions, the English translation prevails (Article VII, Sec. 2).
- Marked amendments requirement: Amended Articles and By-Laws must properly indicate the amendments sought to be approved by underscoring or by any other means and bracket/parenthesize the specific provisions proposed to be changed (Article VII, Sec. 2).
- Separate books rule: Cooperatives covered by these rules must maintain separate recording in the books of account for each business activity (Article VII, Sec. 3).
- Amendment fee timing and bases: The amendment fee is the amount imposed by the Authority per the Schedule of Fees under MC No. 2004-07 dated July 16, 2004 and MC 2014-03 dated July 23, 2014 (Article VII, Sec. 4).
- Fee collection condition: The amendment fee must be paid after approval of the amendments and is collected before issuance of the Certificate of Registration of Amendment (Article VII, Sec. 4).
Jurisdiction, validation, and procedure
- Where to file amendments: Applications for registration of amendment must be filed and registered with the CDA Extension Office (EO) having jurisdiction over the principal office of the proposed multipurpose cooperative (Article VIII).
- Forwarding to CDA Central Office: Applications for amendments of selected types of cooperatives pursuant to MC 2012-08 and tertiary cooperatives with national coverage must be forwarded to the CDA Central Office, which registers the amendments (Article VIII).
- Procedure alignment: Registration procedures for multipurpose cooperative follow the same procedures outlined for registration of amendments, as approved by the Board of Administrators (Article IX).
- Evaluation duty: Upon receipt of the complete required documents, the Authority evaluates them with due regard to the Code and other relevant laws (Article X).
- Validation requirement for conversion: All single purpose cooperatives intending to register as a multi-purpose cooperative must undergo validation before registration (Article XI).
- On-site validation: The CDA Extension Office having jurisdiction must conduct the on-site validation in accordance with Office Order No. 2015-04 (Article XI).
Amendments and compliance obligations
- Mandatory amendments for single-business operation: A multipurpose cooperative found to be operating a single-business activity must register/amend as a single purpose cooperative (Article XII(1)).
- Mandatory deletion of unimplemented purposes: Any multipurpose cooperative whose purpose stated in the Articles of Cooperation has not been undertaken after two years from date of registration must amend its Articles of Cooperation to delete the said purpose (Article XII(2)).
- Single-purpose cooperative operating multiple activities: A single-purpose cooperative found to be operating more than one business/economic activity must comply with:
- Paid-up capital requirement: It must have paid-up capital of PHP 100,000.00 and above (Article XII(3)).
- Capital shortfall consequence: If the minimum paid-up capital is not met, it must cease its operation regarding the other business activity (Article XII(3)).
Separability and repeal
- Separability: If any provision is declared null and void or unconstitutional, the remaining provisions continue in force and effect (Article XIII).
- Repeal of inconsistent issuances: All previous circulars and/or guidelines issued by the Authority that are inconsistent with these guidelines are repealed or modified accordingly (Article XIV).