IT'S TIME TO STRENGHTEN OUR PPSTEA

Our PPSTEA’s mission is to provide financial security to our teachers through mortuary benefits, soft loans and other ameliorative interventions. This is one way of providing dignity to the debt stricken mentors who have difficulties in meeting both ends meet.

However, our local PPSTEA has been deluged with all sorts of problems all of which were not beyond control. What is needed is a little forward looking attitude and gentle firmness in enforcing policies especially when it comes to financial management.

The biggest blunder of the association has been insisting (and succeeding) in converting the association into a cooperative. The intention was noble, but the outcome has been less than desirable. Loans upon loans were granted to fewer teachers, and some officers of the cooperative contracted the bulk of it. A few have retired without any desire of paying what they owe to the cooperative. More than a million pesos lay uncollected from the teachers who contracted the loans. Was there a fervent desire to collect what was due the cooperative? Far from it. Add to it the indifference of those who owed money to the cooperative and you have a perfect recipe for a financial debacle which could leave those still in service with nothing to expect when they retire.

But all hope is not lost yet. There is still time and there are still ways to remedy the situation. But the requirements: Commitment and unselfish efforts to save the cooperative/association.

HENCE WE the officers of NOPTI and PESPA Gingoog City Chapter, who are also active members of the PPSTEA/GCDPSTEMPC would like to forward the following ideas for consideration of the officers of the Gingoog City Division Public School Teachers and Employees Multipurpose Cooperative Inc. (GCDPSTEMPC).

1. Hold an assembly to elect new sets of officers for the cooperative/association. Fresh faces, fresh perspective;

2. Hold the financial management under a committee with representatives from the CDA, Division Office, District PPSTEAs to stabilize the finances of the cooperative and to study the feasibility of returning the capital build up of those who contributed to the cooperative;

3. After returning the CBUs, by all means DISSOLVE THE COOPERATIVE and revert to being an ASSOCIATION. It is an irony that the GCDPSTEMPC continues to receive allowances from the National PPSTA when it is no longer an association.