31st General Assembly Held: New Members of the Board Elected

With 91 delegates in attendance, representing 88.35 percent of the total number of coop-stockholders, the 31st General Assembly (GA) of FICOBank was successfully held on May 27, 2011 at the Isabela Hotel and Resort in Cauayan City, Isabela. From the 2009’s theme centered on growth and stability, this year’s GA proceeded with the theme “Moving Forward.”

The annual General Assembly commenced at around 10:00 a.m., with a doxology rendition by the Philippine Normal University’s Danggayan Kultural Group. Mr. Flordelino A. Almazan, Chairman of the Board of Directors, did the honor of opening the annual event. In his opening remarks, the Chairman put emphasis on the reason why there was a little number of delegates who were present in this year’s GA, compared to the previous ones.

According to him, the Bank’s compliance with Republic Act 9520, otherwise known as the Philippine Cooperative Code of 2008 is the “verdict.” He reiterated that pursuant to Article 97, Chapter XII of RA 9520, “Samahang Nayon (SN) and Municipal Katipunan ng mga Samahang Nayon (MKSN), which held common shares of cooperative banks, prior to the effectivity of RA 9520, shall apply for conversion into full-fledged cooperatives in order to maintain their status as regular members of cooperative banks.” He added that failure of the SNs and MKSNs to convert themselves into full-fledged cooperatives within the prescribed period of one year, after the effectivity of the said law, the cooperative bank concerned may convert the common shares held by such associations into preferred shares. Unfortunately, some of these SNs failed to comply, hence, the result. He also stressed that the decision of converting SN-members’ common shares into preferred shares was not the Bank’s unilateral decision, but ‘twas BSP’s imposed regulation.

Meanwhile, Mr. Melvin E. Abanto, the Vice President of the Strategy and Communications Office of Small Business Corporation and this year’s guest of honor, congratulated the Bank and its people for making another momentous year of excellence in cooperative banking. He said that having been this year’s guest speaker made him realized what a cooperative bank is all about, and what it could actually do in boosting the economic development and growth of the country as a whole. He also said that a bank’s real asset, whether big or small, is not its money, but its people. His keynote speech was brought to a close through an expression gratitude to the management for its invitation.

Mr. Herminio G. Ocampo, President and CEO of FICOBank, ended the morning affair with a closing remarks, putting into words the heartfelt and profound thanks of the Bank to its shareholders and directors, management team and operations group, and business clients and development partners, for their invaluable contributions and immeasurable support in 2010. After the fellowship lunch, the business meeting was called to order at around 1:00 p.m. After the assessment of the number and percentage of delegates present in the affair, the existence of a quorum was declared by the Corporate Secretary. Later, the reading and confirmation of the minutes of the previous meeting took place. It was immediately followed by the accomplishment report for CY 2010, which was presented by President Ocampo. A discussion on the report was carried out, as questions were raised by the representatives of the coop-stockholders of the Bank.

Considered as the major part of the said meeting, the election of four regular and two independent members of the Board of Directors, plus two members of the Election Committee, ensued afterward. Immediately after the votes were cast, four candidates were declared as elected regular members of the Board, namely: Mr. Florentino T. Somera, Jr., Ms. Minzuela A. Tabucol, Atty. Estalker A. Argonza and Mr. Eufemio M. Basuel. Mr. Rogelio R. Agcaoili and Mr. Domingo S. Joson were also voted as independent directors. On the other hand, Ms. Judy Rabago and Mr. Herminigildo Sibayan, Jr. were elected as members of the EleCom. Mr. Flordelino A. Almazan remains as Chairman of the Board. After the oath-taking ceremony, the business meeting was adjourned at past 5:00 p.m.

The 31st General Assembly of FICOBank was made even more exciting with the splendid performances of the Danggayan Kultural Group and the Kalibnusan Dancers of the Philippine Normal University-Alicia Campus. Ms. Wendy Castaneda and Mr. Mark Romel Sunga masterfully hosted the opening ceremonies.