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Also, the matters contained in the following were written in accordance with the law, rules, and jurisprudence prevailing at the time of writing and posting, and do not include any future developments on the subject matter under discussion.
AT A GLANCE:
On August 8, 2019, former President Rodrigo Duterte signed into law Republic Act (RA) No. 11364, also known as the “Cooperative Development Authority Charter of 2019”. The said law took effect on August 29, 2019 and repealed RA 6939 dated March 10, 1990. The primary purpose of RA No. 11364 is to strengthen and reorganize the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA), to make the CDA more responsive to the needs of the cooperative sector and encourage participation of all sectors in the creation, growth, and development of cooperatives in the Philippines.
What shall be the general role of the CDA under the Charter?
Section 3 of RA No. 11364 provides that the CDA created under RA No. 6939 is strengthened and reorganized to carry out the provisions of RA No. 11364 and those of RA No. 6938, as amended by Republic Act No. 9520, otherwise known as the “Philippine Cooperative Code of 2008”.
The CDA shall be an agency attached to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) for policy and program coordination for cooperatives.
Who shall be the policy-making body of the CDA?
Section 5 of RA No. 11364 provides that the CDA shall have a Board of Directors, which shall be the collegial policy-making body of the CDA.
The Board shall be composed of the Chairperson, with the rank and privilege of an Undersecretary, and six (6) Members of the Board, with the rank and privilege of an Assistant Secretary, of whom shall be appointed by the President of the Philippines and chosen among the nominees from the cooperative sector. There shall be one (1) board of director from each of the following cluster of cooperatives:
- Credit and Financial Services, Banking, and Insurance;
- Consumers, Marketing, Producers, and Logistics;
- Human Services: Health, Housing, Workers, and Labor Service;
- Education and Advocacy;
- Agriculture, Agrarian, Aquaculture, Farmers, Dairy, and Fisherfolk; and
- Public Utilities: Electricity, Water, Communications, and Transport.
The Secretaries of the DTI and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) shall serve as ex officio Members of the Board and may designate an alternate in a permanent capacity with a rank of at least an Assistant Secretary and whose acts shall be considered as that of the principal.
As far as practicable, there shall be at least one (1) lawyer Member of the Board, and gender balance shall be observed in the membership of the Board.
Powers, functions, and responsibilities of the CDA
The powers, functions, and responsibilities of the CDA are embodied in Section 4 of RA No. 11364, which shall include developmental, registration and regulation, adjudicatory, and institutional strengthening powers. (Salient Provisions of RA No. 11364 or The Cooperative Development Authority Charter of 2019)
Adjudicatory powers of the CDA
Under Section 4 of the RA No. 11364, the adjudicatory powers of the CDA shall be the following:
- Conduct investigations, file necessary charges, discipline, suspend and/or remove erring officers and members of the cooperative for violation of cooperative laws, rules, regulations, issuances of the Authority, the articles of cooperation and by-laws, after due process, and direct the general assembly to replace the suspended/removed officers, in accordance with the rules and regulations as may be promulgated by the Authority;
- Hear and decide inter-cooperative and intra-cooperative disputes, controversies and/or conflicts, without prejudice to filing of civil and/or criminal cases by the parties concerned before the regular courts: provided, that all decisions of the Authority are appealable directly to the Court of Appeals;
- Issue subpoena ad testificandum and subpoena duces tecum for the parties to appear and produce documents in any proceedings of the Authority and in appropriate cases, order the examination of all documents, papers, files and records of any cooperative or person under investigation as may be necessary for the proper disposition of cases before it;
- Implement and enforce its decision and orders with the assistance of deputized law enforcement agencies or the local government unit concerned as may be necessary;
- Cite for contempt any person guilty of misconduct in the presence of the Authority which seriously interrupts any hearing or inquiry and impose a fine of not more than five thousand pesos (php5,000.00) or imprisonment of not more than ten (10) days, or both. acts constituting indirect contempt as defined under Rule 71 of the rules of court shall be punished in accordance with the said rule.
Registration for Tax Exemption
Under Section 14 of RA No. 11364, the CDA shall be in charge of furnishing the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), LGUs, and other concerned agencies a certified list of duly registered cooperatives for purposes of processing tax exemptions.
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