MAGSIGE-MPC: A Beacon of Growth and Community Empowerment
THE MANUEL Guianga and Sirib Growers and Employees Multipurpose Cooperative (MAGSIGE-MPC) began with the dream of its founding chairman, 75-year-old Agripino “Ping” L. Torres, to elevate the working conditions and incomes of local workers and, ultimately, boost the production of banana growers.
But he was met with resistance from unorganized laborers who initially nixed the proposal to join a cooperative, to the traditional system that chained banana workers to a Manila-based manpower agency.
“At one point, the workers even threw a bolo in front of me as a threat. But I still believed it was the best for them and our growers also. We had to organize our labor force to teach them how to work properly and be serious in their job,” he says.
Luckily, Mr. Torres convinced multinational banana exporter Sumfiru Philippines Corp. to buy into his vision of professionalizing the labor force.
So, the company helped Mr. Torres organize the co-op, which started as a small room inside Sumifru’s compound.
By pooling contributions from the core members, the cooperative raised enough capital to comply with government requirements. Finally, on September 10, 2008, MAGSIGE-MPC finally secured its registration from the Cooperative Development Authority.
First on the agenda was to break the chain of labor inefficiency and abuse. Mr. Torres explains that banana workers were at the mercy of the manpower agencies, resulting in delayed wages, withheld benefits, and other problems.
“I worked as board chairman and manager for almost two years without pay,” he recounts. We started in September 2008 and for the first few months, the business was losing. But in 2009, we already breached the million mark in earnings.”
MAGSIGE-MPC was not the only cooperative in Davao City with labor contracting as the business model. It was competing with four other cooperatives in neighboring barangays. Eventually, these organizations dissolved due to poor fiscal management, lack of market, and inability to comply with government standards. Eventually, MAGSIGE absorbed most of its members.
Billionaire’s Club, Almost
Starting with P33,000 capital from its 85 original members, Magsige is now on the cusp of joining the elite billionaire co-op club. But what sets it apart from other billionaire cooperatives in Davao City like Sta. Ana or Agdao MPCs, is its age.
While others have gained a foothold after thriving for over 50 years, at 16 years old, MAGSIGE-MPC—despite its net worth—is virtually an upstart by comparison. Luckily, its founding chairman had decades worth of experience having worked and established four other cooperatives since the 90s.
The co-op’s building is tucked along Villafuerte Street in Calinan District, some 28 kilometers away from downtown Davao City. The two-story structure stands unobtrusively, past a primary hospital and rows of houses and mature trees dotting the two-lane road.
A stranger might miss the building by blinking at the wrong time, but residents know its location by heart and its employees by smiles.
From its humble beginnings with just 86 members, MAGSIGE-MPC has soared to remarkable heights, now boasting nearly 20,000 active members and expanding its reach with nine satellite offices across Mindanao.
Milestones and Achievements
The co-op’s growth narrative is not just about numbers—it’s a story of empowerment, innovation, and sustainable development.
MAGSIGE-MPC diversified early, from savings and cooperative services to launching its garments manufacturing business in 2014.
The cooperative prioritized its members’ unemployed wives and husbands in hiring workers, allowing them to bring in extra income for the family while also giving them the dignity of being productive.
“I saw that banana companies required workers to wear complete PPEs like coveralls and gloves. I approached DOLE (Department of Labor and Employment) because they gave us sewing and embroidery machines through grants,” he says.
In fact, when the rest of the world slowed down to a halt during the COVID-19 pandemic, the co-op’s sewing machines were busy whirring to produce thousands of face masks and PPEs, which MAGSIGE-MPC donated to medical workers in Davao City as part of its corporate social responsibility.
Now, apart from the protective clothing for banana workers, the co-op regularly supplies uniforms, togas, and other apparel to schools, shopping malls, corporate offices, and government agencies under the brand name Gré.
“Our garments manufacturing business is one of the co-op’s pillars,” he says.
On June 18, 2020, MAGSIGE-MPC established the Ko-op Mart to help its members access food and non-food essentials while they navigate the challenges of the pandemic and shrinking family income.
It also partnered with TESDA for accreditation of its Training and Assessment Center, which now offers Dressmaking NC II, Housekeeping NC II, Bookkeeping NC III, and Trainers Methodology.
Finally, the co-op launched “The Library Café” at the Davao City Library and Information Center on December 8, 2022. Manned by cooperative members, the coffee shop aimed to help growers in Marilog District gain new market access while introducing library-goers to a taste of native beans.
Empowering rice farmers
When MAGSIGE-MPC was first established, it found itself in the middle of a system that forever shackled rice farmers to rich traders and middlemen in the surrounding communities.
Gemma Julian, 53, whose family farms a 4-hectare rice field in Sitio Balite, Calinan, recounts having to sell their harvests to traders at a loss due to predatory lending practices.
“We had no choice because we borrowed money from them to buy our inputs, so they were the ones dictating the prices. We just had to grin and accept their terms,” she says in Bisaya.
As a result, generations of families were indebted to very few traders and caught in a cycle of poverty and virtual indentured servitude.
In contrast, Julian claims the co-op buys their rice harvest at P1.00 above the prevailing market price.
Elena Sibugon, 60, echoed Ms. Julian’s sentiments as she says their income, if any, from the two harvest cycles each year was enough only for basic necessities after paying off their debts.
However, after becoming members of MAGSIGE-MPC, rice farmers immediately had access to a zero-interest loan package they could pay back in three harvest cycles.
“Also, we happily pay our loans to the co-op because it will return to us in the form of dividends and patronage,” Ms. Sibugon says.
“More than anything, we no longer have to deal with the traders because we can turn to MAGSIGE anytime,” she adds.
FPSDC Assistance
The Federation of Peoples’ Sustainable Development Cooperative (FPSDC) has played a pivotal role in elevating MAGSIGE-MPC’s services and programs.
One of the FDSDC’s flagship programs that MAGSIGE-MPC accessed is the YLEAD Agri-preneurship Program, a three-month accelerated strategy designed to empower young cooperative members to gain the necessary skills as agri-preneurs.
The program envisions producing a new generation of agri-entrepreneurs, aged between 18 and 35 years old, so they would hopefully step up to become the next leaders in their communities and respective cooperatives.
These types of programs enabled the co-op to craft innovative ways to reflect its commitment to delivering sustainable cooperative prosperity for every family.
The cooperative has diversified its services to include quality agricultural products, financial services, insurance, and community development services. It has also embraced technology, adopting appropriate technologies to enhance its operations and services.
For instance, MAGSIGE-MPC’s job contracting services now boast 38 clients with 8,000 total deployed workforce in Davao, Socsksargen, and Caraga regions.
The cooperative employs a clustering approach in its agribusiness ventures.
The Egg Production Cluster produces nearly 4,000 eggs daily from a total of 4,000 heads.
The Vegetable Production Cluster now supplies local supermarkets, retailers, and restaurants with a total buying transaction of P580,000.
The Rice Cluster has 23 members farming a total of 32 hectares at an average of 50-80 sacks per harvest.
The Banana Cluster now has 2,500 hills covering 3.2 hectares.
The Coffee Cluster has 42 beneficiaries belonging mostly to IP communities covering 42 total hectares. The co-op has extended P7 million in financial assistance with zero interest and purchased 3.5 tons of Green Coffee Beans.
The co-op processed the harvested beans into Gre’ Roasted Coffee and Gre’ Coffee, a four-in-one mix including Ginseng extract, which it perfected with the help of the Department of Science and Technology. The product now comes in three flavors: Butterscotch, Mocha, and Cappuccino.
“Apart from YLEAD, FDSDC also helped us through their capacity-building programs, learning visits to other countries, dividend and experience refund, and cooperative consultations,” says Mr. Richard Rosales, Research and Business Development Head.
He says they will continue to take advantage of all the knowledge transfer and other assistance extended to the co-op to sustain its gains and benefit its members.
Looking Ahead
Besides networking with FDSDC and government agencies, Mr. Torres gives all the glory to God for the co-op’s success.
“God will forever be the cornerstone of our cooperative. It’s very tempting for us because we are being entrusted with a lot of money. For instance, in March alone, our transactions were already in the billions. If your value system is rotten and you are greedy, just 10% of a billion is already P100 million. We would have been multi-millionaires by now,” he quips.
MAGSIGE-MPC’s journey is a shining example of how collective action and support from federations like FPSDC can lead to transformative change, uplifting communities, and paving the way for a sustainable future.
“I hope every member of MAGSIGE, although I know that not everyone will become rich, at least they would live respectably. The dignity of man will be preserved,” Mr. Torres concludes.
