The planned GLEDCO building
By Dominic B. dela
Cruz
Staff Reporter
The Government of Laoag Employees Development Cooperative (GLEDCO)
based at the Laoag City Hall has reached the P350 million total assets as of
July 2013.
The
cooperative, which is now on its 11th year of operation, began in
November 2011 with just 165 members and paid up capital of P125,000. Today,
GLEDCO has 1,916 members as of August 31, 2013.
GLEDCO general
manager Edgar Pascual said the cooperative is now servicing the entire Ilocos
Norte and is no longer focused just on Laoag City government employees. They
now accept other individuals not employed by the city government as associate
members.
Out of the
1,916 members, 850 are regular members and the rest are associate members.
All members of
GLEDCO have the same benefits with the only difference is associate members have
a limit when they apply for loans.
Aside from
loans offered by GLEDCO, their other businesses include a gasoline station,
tutorial services and the planned construction of GLEDCO’s own building early
next year.
The master plan
in the next five years includes the putting up of an ice plant and an additional
gasoline station.
The planned second gas station
Pascual said
GLEDCO is performing well, being the fastest growing cooperative in the entire
province with a P350 million total assets as of July this year. It is followed
by the San Joaquin Multi Development Cooperative in Sarrat, Ilocos Norte which
is in the P100 million-asset level.
Meanwhile,
GLEDCO officials recently conducted an educational Lakbay Aral at St. Martin of
Tours Credit and Development Cooperative in Bulacan from September 26 to 28.
According to
Pascual, the Lakbay Aral was very fruitful because GLEDCO and St. Martin of
Tours had the chance to sit down and exchange ideas about their respective
operations.
Pascual said
GLEDCO has chosen this cooperative being the biggest, oldest and a “billionaire
cooperative” in the entire province of Bulacan servicing credit and savings
with around 33,000 members, to include its branch in Cabanatuan City in Nueva
Ecija.
Pascual hopes
that GLEDCO would be able to adopt or replicate some of their programs. Foremost
of which are: when a member reaches the age of 60, the cooperative will be
giving additional benefits, hospitalization benefits for every member, and group
insurance related to medical among others.
During their
assessment, Pascual said GLEDCO has only P350 million asset compared with St.
Martin of Tours which has P1 billion yet the annual income of the later is only
P20 million while GLEDCO’s is P21 million both for last year. This means GLEDCO
members’ rate of return of investment is much higher than the other
cooperatives.
Records show
that GLEDCO has received numerous awards and distinctions for the past years from
the Cooperatives Development Authority (CDA).
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