THE PHILIPPINE Chamber of Cooperatives, Inc., or PH Co-op Chamber, the nation’s leading advocacy center for cooperatives, emphasizes the significant but often underestimated role of cooperatives in nation-building as drivers of good governance, in celebration of the National Cooperative Month this October.
Lobbying for the revision of Republic Act No. 9520 or the Cooperative Code of 2008, the organization highlights the contributions of cooperatives in strengthening the local and national economy, not only by generating jobs and providing livelihoods to millions of poor and marginalized Filipinos, but also by infusing capital to provide business opportunities in various grassroots communities all throughout the country.
On this note, the PH Co-op Chamber calls for a society with a government that is free of any form of corruption, as this heavily impacts the operation and management of cooperatives, and the lives of the members of the cooperatives as well.
Following the National Taxation Forum organized by the PH Co-op Chamber on Oct. 9, 2025, in Quezon City, as attended by more than 200 cooperative leaders from different parts of the country, cooperatives raised concerns on the regulatory burden being imposed, including the BIR requirement of TIN of individual co-op members to be able to secure a Certificate of Tax Exemptions.
“The PH Co-op Chamber challenges the validity of these revenue memorandum circulars before the Supreme Court, arguing that these issuances unlawfully restrict the tax exemption privileges granted to cooperatives under the Cooperative Code,” said Noel Raboy, chairperson of the PH Co-op Chamber.
Raboy, and Vice Chairperson Marlene D. Sindayen
The organization also requests the government to affirm the rights and privileges of cooperatives without being burdened by additional, legally unwarranted administrative requirements imposed strictly by regulatory agencies, which result to penalties amounting to as much as millions of pesos and lead to the closure of cooperatives.
“It is the policy of the State to foster the growth and development of cooperatives, and its autonomy and independence must always be upheld as enshrined in our Constitution,” added chairperson Raboy.
This issue on the TIN requirement has already been addressed in the proposed revisions of the Cooperative Code, as adopted in the Senate Bill No. 1431, or the consolidated bills amending Republic Act No. 9520. The PH Co-op Chamber, as a member of the Technical Working Group in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, is just awaiting the schedule of the Committee Meeting in the House of Representatives to finalize its version of the proposed revisions.
The PH Co-op Chamber stresses that any revision in the Cooperative Code must always adhere to the internally-agreed cooperative values and principles, preserving the democratic, autonomous, and people-centered nature of cooperatives. The organization will continue to advocate for the resolution of the different concerns affecting the operation of cooperatives for the welfare of the Filipino cooperators.
