Pursuant to Article 137 of R.A. No. 9520 also known as the “Philippine Cooperative Code of 2008,” Rule 13 of the Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations of R.A. No. 9520, and Rule IV of the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) Omnibus Rules of Procedure, the following supplemental rules of procedure governing voluntary arbitration before the CDA are hereby promulgated.

The world of online transactions has been growing exponentially ever since the pandemic happened. It made everything convenient and it brought the world closer to us. However, despite the positive feedback that online transactions have given us, there have been a lot of horror stories such as scams, fraud, and other issues arising from online transactions.

The Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) is the lead government agency in the Philippines that is mandated by law to promote the sustained growth and development of the country’s cooperatives, to the end that they become instruments of social justice and inclusive economic progress. Part of the functions of the CDA under the CDA Charter of 2019 or Republic Act (R.A.) No. 11364, is the inspection of cooperatives. Pursuant to this, the CDA has issued Memorandum Circular No. 2024-10, entitled the “Revised Guidelines on the Conduct of Inspection of Cooperatives” (“Guidelines”).

The Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) has recently issued Memorandum Circular 2024-04, establishing updated guidelines for the creation and operation of cooperative branch offices. These guidelines provide clear instructions for cooperatives aiming to expand their services by establishing branch offices, ensuring that growth remains orderly, compliant, and beneficial to cooperative members.

The Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) issued Memorandum Circular (MC) No. 2024-16 entitled “Reiteration of the Prohibitions under Articles 45, 48, and 49 of Republic Act (RA) No. 9520″ to serve as guidance to cooperative officers to uphold the best interest of their members pursuant to the universally accepted cooperative principles and to refrain from using their privileges and the cooperative’s financial resources for their personal gains and to benefit their business interests in another company where they have personal investment or interest.

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.

During the height of the pandemic, new challenges have emerged. Physical transactions were limited in compliance with health protocols and thus, government services were completely automated including national and local business registration processes.