Republic Act 11535, declaring the position of a Cooperatives Development Officer (CDO) mandatory in all local government units (LGUs), was signed into law last April 9. This directs the LGUs – from the municipal, city, and provincial levels – to appoint its own CDO. In Taganito Mining Corp. (TMC), a CDO is a regular job description – someone in charge of identifying promising groups in different sectors in the communities to guide and assist them in organizing their own cooperatives. Edelina E. Peraz is the Community Development Coordinator at TMC and she says “as a mining company, TMC is tasked by law to ensure social and economic development of the communities and we have long acknowledged the significance of a successful cooperative to achieve this.”

Fishermen in a mining community harvest 12,000 kilos of bangus in four months. (2021, May 10). Business Mirror, p. B6.