Asian Alliance for Solidarity Economy

by Paul Casuga

The Celebration

One of the leading partners of CSRSME Asia in the field of microfinance, the Inner City Development Cooperative (ICDC), an urban-based cooperative, celebrated its fourth year anniversary full of hope, fun and surprises.

The celebration was held on September 23, 2009 at the Amoranto Theater Hall, Barangay Paligsahan, Quezon City. It was attended by some 1,000 ICDC officers, staff, members and invited guests. Mr. Benjamin R. Quinones, Jr. Chairman of the CSRSME Asia represented by his Executive Director Ms. Hilda Panganiban served as the Keynote Speaker.

The “Parade of Colors” marked the opening of the ICDC anniversary celebration. Bearing the Anniversary Celebration banner “Apat na taon na po kami; tuloy ang pagtulong at pagsulong”, some representatives from ICDC branches marched into the theater hall followed by the trumpeting of ICDC’s major programs for the poor which includes microfinance for the urban poor, Fonus funeral service and Waterforce purified drinking water supply. Like many celebrations of this kind, the program started with the singing of the Philippine National Anthem, led by Ms. Tess Tresvalles. This was followed by the opening prayer in the hymn of “Lord Hear Our Prayer”. A loud round of applause then covered the whole theater. “Empowering the poor” – was the mode of the day, as ICDC commemorated its fourth year. All together they chanted “Apat na taon na po kami; Tuloy ang pagtulong at pagsulong”. Ms. Virgie Calimag and Mark Nacino served as the Masters of Ceremony.

The presentation of special song and dance numbers by the representatives from different ICDC branches made the occasion all the more alive. Not even the youth sector was to be left out – represented by the kid savers and the “moro ami” dance group. They also showed their talents in singing and dancing, lifting the participants of the celebration in high spirits. The singing and dancing numbers served as the intermission between programs. Another much-awaited segment of the event was the drawing of raffle prizes open to all participants. Raffle draws for miscellaneous prizes were done after each special number. The major prizes, drawn during the last part of the program, comprised of a Carinderia show case (third prize), a high-speed sewing machine (second prize) and a Sari-sari store show case worth twenty five thousand pesos (P25,000.00) for the first prize. Before the program was concluded ICDC expressed its appreciation for the great contributions of its staff and members, particularly for their effective utilization of funds borrowed for their income generating activities. Certificates of Award were also given to selected staff and members.

Highlights of the Anniversary Celebration

Brother Raffy Rimando, ICDC Vice Chairperson welcomed the participants of the

anniversary celebration and gave due recognition to members and guests. He thanked all the members and guests for sharing their time to join in the celebration despite their tight schedules. One of the highlights of this program was the report of the ICDC founder and chairman Ms. Eufrecina ‘Zeny’ De Jesus. In her report, Ate Zeny recalled how ICDC was organized and thanked the people who helped her in making ICDC a reality. In her expression of appreciation, Ate Zeny made a special mention of Ms. Virgie Calimag (her long time friend) for the valuable contributions she made to the success of the organization and her continuing services for the poor. Another component of ICDC’s success then, according to Ate Zeny was the YagitToda – an organization of tricycle drivers in Tatalon, Quezon – where ICDC’s seed was first planted and eventually bloomed into a success. Meanwhile, Tatalon, Quezon City is the seat of the ICDC where the main office is located and represents 35 percent of their total membership.

In her report, Ate Zeny gave more emphasis on governance, human resources, Fonus memorial services and updates on the microfinance program. As of June 2009, ICDC has 36 employees operating the three branches (Tatalon, Galas and Bahay Toro) and servicing 3,196 regular members including the operation of Fonus funeral service, coop mart and Waterforce purified drinking water supply.

From July 2008 to June 2009, the ICDC Microfinance operations was able to provide P49.589 million from its target P50 million worth of loans to 2,566 members and was able to mobilize P4.089 million savings from its members. As of June 2009, ICDC was able to generate P1.4 million equity build-up and P2.6 million Lock-in Capital Build-up.  It was also reported that in 2008 ICDC recorded a cumulative income of P2 million and P1.8 million as of mid 2009 and continues to earn more. However, despite having encouraging financial figures, ICDC incurred a total outstanding loan of P17 million representing a 53% increase from June 2008 to June 2009. This drives them to work hard to improve repayment rate and arrest the increasing portfolio at risk, pushing them to organize a delinquency and operations audit team to handle the problem.

In her closing report, Ate Zeny commended the staff for their achievement on their Fonus funeral service project. Ate Zeny emphasized that they are consistent to their mission of providing affordable and quality funeral services to families of ICDC member and even non-members in times of loss of a loved one by providing 65 memorial services to the community since its inception.

The Calamity

More celebrations have been prepared for the month but three days after the start of its fourth year anniversary celebration, an unfortunate event happened. On September 26, 2009, typhoon Ondoy (international name Ketsana) hit the Philippine National Capital Region (NCR) and its nearby provinces. Barangay Tatalon in Quezon City was one of those severely damaged.

Strong rain poured during the night before suddenly stopping early in the morning. There was no weather disturbance then declared. This became an ordinary day for many to attend to their usual routine. Students attended their Saturday classes and other school activities, workers went to work and other personal and family activities. Then suddenly at 10:00 am heavy rain continued to pour with all its might. Typhoon Ondoy was then ravaging the NCR and its nearby provinces, flooding streets, submerging houses, and displacing many families. The Category 2 typhoon according to PAGASA brought unprecedented rains to the capital region, causing the worst metro flooding in a century. Traffic was paralyzed throughout the region, as lower lying areas are inundated from the downpours. Even domestic flights were cancelled because of the storm. Water levels continued to rise as several dams began to overflow. Television news coverage showed cars and houses submerged in many residential areas in barangay Tatalon and many areas of NCR. At 4:00 o’clock in the afternoon, Villa Espana in Tatalon was already 12 feet underwater forcing residents to evacuate. People sought refuge in barangay halls, covered basketball courts, and empty parking areas. The ICDC staff estimated around 90% of their members in Barangay Tatalon was directly affected and even some deaths of their members came into the reports.

As night began to shadow, typhoon Ondoy exposed many hidden weaknesses in the government’s preparedness for a calamity of this magnitude. Hundreds of people were trapped on the roofs of their homes as the flood rose to drown them. They hoped in their heart of hearts that a rescue team will somehow emerge from the total darkness and bring them safely to safe ground. But no one came, according to Aling Nenita (member of ICDC in Villa Espana), on that very dark night.

Hundreds of people were trapped, but not even a single rubber boat arrived for rescue. Many died, and those who survived had to be sobered by the fact that a few more hours of rain would have certainly killed them, had not the rain somehow diminished in the night. They had to wait in the morning to be rescued, spending the night cold, wet, hungry—but alive.

But the wrath of this natural calamity has also brought out heroes out of ordinary men and women. In the face of this terrible disaster, the natural instinct to save others prevailed. Stories of heroism abound in this catastrophe and many of these unsung and unknown heroes will forever be remembered by the people they saved. Many risked and sacrificed their own lives in order to save their fellow men according to Ate Zeny when she spoke to their members during their recovery operation the day after.

After the flood had subsided, what remained was a landscape of devastation, destroyed homes, and shattered lives. Yet ICDC did not lose hope in providing assistance to their members. Personal friends, concerned citizens and program partner non-government organizations, including CSRSME Asia, came to the rescue and provided financial and relief goods assistance to the victims of typhoon Ondoy.  Solidarity continues and rebuilding efforts took place until VICTORY! was declared again.

“Apat na taon na po kami; tuloy ang pagtulong at pagsulong”