History of Lingkod Banahaw

The year 1995 during the time of my job hunting since we just transferred from Laguna, a Canadian worker in the name of Dr. Ronaldo Bruillette is looking for person with disability to handle the organization that will serve person’s with disability in the whole area of Quezon. During our first meeting, I am not convinced to work with this organization because I really don’t know how to deal with person with disability, most of my experience are working with ordinary person. But Ron really insist that this would be the gateway of so many possibilities to improve the quality of life of persons like me. I studied very well the scope of the program and to make it short I joined the group. I went into so many trainings together with some other staff, sign language training, and mobility for the blind, audiology training, earmold making and fitting of hearing aid. We initiated the school for the deaf, for the blind and for the Down syndrome here at Candelaria through our constant coordination with the Special education at Dep. Ed. Central office. We met so many person’s with disability in Candelaria, adult and children. With our list of more than a hundred adult and the truth that time will come that these children will soon be looking for a job after school, a broad question came, what would be the future of these children that we convinced that they can attain better future through education, hence the reality in our society is still the biggest hindrance for person with disability in having normal life.

The year 1997, Ron ordered me to study about putting up a cooperative; our organization will give full support in this project. At first it is very frightening coz I know that these person doesn’t have a job how can they be a member, we decided to invert the common procedure in getting members the cooperative will source project for the members to work with as their livelihood. Together with Mr. Alfredo Aguilar and some of my staff at Lingkod Banahaw Inc. we finalized all the requirements and with Ron they submitted those to the regional office of Cooperative Development Authority. Finally, Lingkod Banahaw Multi-Purpose Cooperative released its legal personality on Jan. 13, 1998, this was the beginning of all sacrifices, challenges, critics and so much more where we get our strength to become more united to achieve our dreams. On the same year we hosted a very historical event for all cooperative of person’s with disability in the whole Philippines, the founding assembly of the National Federation of Cooperative of Person’s with Disability ( NFCPWD).

Since 1998, the project of this cooperative was very unstable in terms of projects for livelihood, and all scope of being a cooperative was very weak. Then the big break comes in, on the end party of 2004 when the Federation Chairman Mr. Ricky Castro called me and asks our help for the big contract of the federation amounting to more than 49M pesos. The big question comes in my mind on how we can revive the group, through a much deeper conversation with our Chairman Mr. Alfredo Aguilar, we commit ourselves in forming again the group olds and new persons came and we decided to accept the offer of Mr. Castro. We asked the treasurer Mr. Wendell Arapeles to come from Ligaspi coz we need to open an account under the name of our cooperative, though we don’t have any money, we owe P. 10,000.00 from a friend of our chairman Dr. Jing Villaluz. We start training for all new comers and then proper production started.

On May 8, 2005 the re-organizational assembly took place, we planned to continue and we envisioned that this cooperative will give more livelihoods to our members. Though there is still gap in the production, the weekly meeting of our group not only the officers took place. We discussed everything, we decided on every rules and regulations to be implemented; always the decision of the majority would be followed. For the past 3 years of our continues operation we attributed more than P. 2M for salary and labor to our members which help them on their economic condition. Our main objective is to uplift the life of all our members on which we saw a step by step realization. Our biggest dream for the coming years, is to acquire our own lot to build our own workshop and part of this lot would be set aside as residential area for all good standing members. The capitalization of the group is working very well. We will be conducting strategic planning through the help of our apex organization the National Federation of Cooperative of Person’s with Disability. Our networking with some government agency will help us in some way or another for the realization of all our commitment to our members and the community as well.

For livelihood: We don’t want you to buy our product because of Pity but because it is a better deal.

We believe that the best future of this cooperative will depend on the unity, trust and cooperation of our group.