News and Updates

Iskaparate.com marks its 2nd year with online event on Sept. 8, 2022

Message from Mr. Joey Bermudez, Founder and CEO of Iskaparate.com

Last year, I had the opportunity to share with an esteemed audience assembled by GERC the story of Iskaparate.com, a social enterprise that started almost two years ago as an online catalog faintly patterned after Etsy and Carousell and meant to help poor entrepreneurial mothers live through the brutal lockdowns that shuttered their physical storefronts. From a vendor network of 33 entrepreneurial mothers at inception, Iskaparate today has nearly 2,000 sellers and has morphed into a complete platform for supporting entrepreneurial mothers who desire to enter the digital commerce space. Inside Iskaparate.com today is an e-commerce portal, an online catalog, a social media channel with a very engaged follower base, an online invoicing and payments facility, a fulfillment platform, and an entrepreneurial training academy manned by almost a hundred volunteer mentors of diverse backgrounds and with deep experience. The platform is turning two years old on September 8. We will hold a simple anniversary event at 9:45 a.m. on September 8 to mark this milestone and we would be honored if you can join us. Apart from giving you an update on our progress, we will also give the attendees a chance to informally chat with Dr. Bernardo Villegas, the country's pre-eminent economist on matters that affect our lives in these very interesting times. We will also announce during the program the creation of online community malls within Iskaparate for our major organization partners K-Coop, Simbag/SEDP, Angat Buhay, and Tulay sa Pag-Unlad. In these online community malls, their members can converge, buy, sell, and support each other. These organizations have a collective membership of close to 500,000. I hope you and your colleagues can find time to attend this event. Below is the link for the virtual program which you may freely share with friends who believe in women empowerment and poverty alleviation.

Best regards,
Joey Bermudez
Founder and CEO of Iskaparate.com

Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83902933974?pwd=YkpnRkRsSU8rN3AwS2l1QWZyZERNZz09 Meeting ID: 839 0293 3974 Passcode: 337123

Using the computerized GAD tool in co-ops—and facing aggravated gender issues in the pandemic

by GERC Inc.

For its “Gender Mainstreaming for Cooperative Development (GMCD)” Program that started in the fourth quarter of 2021, the GERC Inc. held on October 26-27, 2021 the online “Training on the Use of the Computerized Gender and Development (GAD) Monitoring Tool.” GERC Inc. specifically conducted Module 1, “Training on the Use of the Computerized GAD Assessment Tool for Cooperatives.” Module 2, "Training on the Use of the Computerized GAD Monitoring Tool for Cooperatives," was conducted on November 19-20, 2021.

The GMCD Program is being implemented by GERC Inc. under its Project “Institutionalizing Women Empowerment and Gender Equality in Philippine Cooperatives.” The Project is a partnership of GERC Inc. and the We Effect Philippines Program “Equality First: Working Together Towards Gender Equality, Transformative Housing, and Empowerment of the Rural Folk (Working TOGETHER).”

For the Module 1 training, GERC Inc. invited as participants the GAD Committee members; GAD Focal Persons; and other officers and staff involved in the GAD mainstreaming program of primary cooperatives; and staff of federations, unions, and non-government organizations that assist in the GAD mainstreaming in cooperatives. For the Module 2 training, GERC Inc. invited representatives from co-op federations/unions/councils; co-op development offices of local government units; and primary co-ops that are interested to conduct GAD monitoring and assessment in their areas; and co-op GAD Committee and GAD Focal Persons taking part in the "GAD in Co-ops Resource Pool (GCRP)" currently being set up by GERC Inc.

The GMCD aims at assisting co-ops’ GAD Committee members and GAD Focal Persons in understanding the GAD mainstreaming processes and steps; providing technical support by providing skills and knowledge on GAD approaches and processes in key areas of the co-op organization by using the “GAD Assessment Tool for Co-ops” (Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) Memorandum Circular No. 2017-04); and assisting co-ops in developing and implementing their own GAD plan.

Co-ops into gender

More and more co-ops are taking actions to mainstream GAD in their organizations. CDA has recently reported that as of its inspection conducted in 2019, the compliance of co-ops with the two MCs on GAD—MC Nos. 2013-22 and 2017-04—are as follows: 6,247 co-ops with GAD Committee; 4,076 co-ops with GAD Focal Person; 3,411 co-ops with GAD education and training program; 3,264 co-ops with GAD policy; 3,245 co-ops with GAD cooperative development plan; 3,144 co-ops with GAD program implementation; and 3,159 co-ops with GAD budget.

GAD mainstreaming in co-ops has delivered many good results. But the GAD advocates will always have to hurdle many more challenges because the field is wide for GAD advocacy in co-ops nationwide. CDA statistics show that there are 11,939 reporting co-ops, as of 2019.

Aggravating circumstances

An urgent and current concern for the co-op movement is the presence of COVID-19 that has heightened the challenges that humankind must face. The pandemic’s ill effects in all aspects of living include bringing about intensified gender issues. Co-ops are very much a part of people’s lives and thus have to immediately act on these intensified gender issues that consequently affect the members and the co-ops themselves.

The International Labour Organization (ILO) reported in July 2021 that work inequalities between women and men that worsened in the pandemic will persist in the near future (https://bit.ly/3k488Q5). ILO said that only 43.2 percent of the world’s working-age women will be employed in 2021, compared to 68.6 percent working-age men. In the Asia Pacific, the pandemic caused women’s employment to decrease by 3.8 percent, compared to 2.9 percent in men; and domestic violence and work-related gender-based violence and harassment worsened. This situation further undermined women’s ability to be in the workforce, ILO cautioned.

Co-ops can rebuild together, with and through GAD

With these developments aggravating the socioeconomic and political spheres of living, with heightened gender issues as one of the results, co-ops as among the most important institutions that serve people should seek ways to recover and rebuild better and stronger together. Co-ops can put gender-responsive strategies and gender equality at the core of rebuilding co-op operations and the members’ lives. GAD mainstreaming in co-ops is among the strongest means to recovery and rebuilding.

Merlene Q. Flores, rest in peace.

GERC holds second part of TOT on GAD for co-ops; training for co-ops on using the Computerized GAD Assessment Tool to be held in June 2022 (limited slots available)

On May 24-25, 2022, GERC Inc., in partnership with We Effect, conducted the online “Training of Trainers (TOT) on GAD for Co-ops—Part 2: How to Use the Computerized GAD Assessment Tool for Co-ops.” The training aimed at helping participants understand the “Gender and Development (GAD) Assessment Tool Framework”; acquire skills on using the GAD Assessment Tool; and appreciate the web-based GAD Assessment Tool developed by GERC Inc. The GAD Assessment Tool is provided for in the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA)’s Memorandum Circular (MC) No. 2017-04: “Tool for Assessing Progress of Gender Equality in Primary Cooperatives as Supplemental to Memorandum Circular 2013-22.” MC No. 2013-22 is the “Guidelines on Mainstreaming Gender and Development (GAD) in Cooperatives.” The web-based GAD Assessment Tool was developed by GERC Inc. through its project being implemented through We Effect’s country program “Working TOGETHER.” In the We Effect country program, various Philippine development organizations are engaged in the areas of gender equality, transformative housing, and empowerment of the rural folk.

GERC Inc. will soon release details about the web-based GAD Assessment Tool that it is scheduled to upload. GERC Inc. will invite primary co-ops to register to the link of the web-based Tool to gain access to it and input their co-op data. Earlier, GERC Inc. had developed and made available to co-ops the computerized version of the GAD Assessment Tool.

Participants in the training came from nationwide: attendees in GERC Inc.’s TOT on GAD in co-ops—Part 1; representatives of some of GERC Inc.’s fellow partner-organizations in the We Effect country program; members of the GAD in Co-ops Resource Pool (GCRP) (“GCRP Fellows”); and a representative of We Effect. On April 19, 2022, GERC Inc. held online the first part of this TOT on GAD, which was the “Refresher Course for GAD in Co-ops Trainers” (click here for related article).

This training on using the computerized GAD Assessment Tool as well as the earlier refresher course for GAD trainers in co-ops were held as part GERC Inc.’s continuing efforts to conduct GAD-related activities that will help Philippine co-ops enhance GAD mainstreaming, especially amid extra challenges to co-ops and to GAD trainers in co-ops. Extra challenges--

1) to co-ops: caused by different factors such as the pandemic that necessitates improved operations amid the new normal

2) to GAD trainers in co-ops: as co-ops need more and updated GAD mainstreaming assistance amid the continuous increase of number of members and of the demand for increased/updated co-op services and programs.

With GAD mainstreaming’s socioeconomic advantages for co-ops, especially relevant in these times, it has become even more important that co-ops and co-op-supporting organizations be able to access assistance in GAD mainstreaming that can be relayed to them in various forms, such as through adoption of digital/online technology.

The GCRP

Through the GCRP that it launched in March 2022, the GERC Inc. brings to co-ops the assistance in GAD mainstreaming that is even more relevant, timely, and easily accessible. Through the GCRP Directory, co-ops, and non-government organizations, government agencies, local government units, and other agencies that support GAD and co-op development can tap the GCRP Fellows who are GAD trainers/experts responsible for expanding GAD outreach to co-ops nationwide. The GCRP Fellows can assist in GAD mainstreaming-related services (onsite and online) such as, but not limited to, conduct of gender-sensitivity training (GST) and other gender sessions; and sustained technical assistance to co-ops for GAD mainstreaming. Click here for the GCRP Directory of expert GAD trainers/advocates.

GCRP Fellows conduct training on June 2022 on Computerized GAD Assessment Tool

GCRP Fellows will take part in conducting a training and in providing technical support in GAD mainstreaming in co-ops by handling sessions in the online “Training on the Use of the Computerized GAD Assessment Tool for Co-ops (MC 2017-04)” to be organized by GERC Inc. for co-ops in the Mindanao, Luzon, and Visayas regions on these dates: June 14-16, 2022 (Mindanao co-ops); June 21-23, 2022 (Luzon co-ops); and June 28-30, 2022 (Visayas co-ops). The June training series will be held still as part of GERC Inc.’s project with We Effect. Co-ops interested to undergo the June training (per region grouping) can request for an invitation by e-mailing Ms. Wilma Ganibe at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

NOTE: Limited slots are available for participants in the June training. GERC Inc. will reply to e-mailed requests for training invitations on a first-come, first-served basis.

Photos from the online “Training of Trainers (TOT) on GAD for Co-ops—Part 2: How to Use the Computerized GAD Assessment Tool for Co-ops” held on May 24-25, 2022