Kathlia De Castro


The milestones of success for the reintegration group 2 continuously flourish. After the cooperative seminar held last March 11 and 18, 2007, the Cooperative Development Authority of the Philippines officially recognized the group as Vision for a Better Tomorrow Multi-purpose Cooperative (VFBET) on May 31, 2007. It has a registration number of CBU-3269-XL valid for fifty years. Having established a legal entity all permits and necessary papers were arranged to formally start the project. The project name is Galilea Resort for Education and Development situated at Looc, Panglao, Bohol. A groundbreaking ceremony was successfully held last June 5, 2007 and eventually, was published in the front page of the Bohol Chronicle. Several known personalities in Bohol such as the governor, tourism officer and CDA representative graced the occasion. From Korea, Fr. Eugene, Nanay Tina and 12 Korean donors attended the event.

The construction started on June 25. To date, the dormitory type building is almost completed while the main building (2-storey type) was more than half-complete. Dr. Gigi Salces and Engr. Joy Tagab are overseeing the construction. A bookkeeper is hired as well to handle the financial aspects. The construction is expected to end by second week of November and the target opening date is on the last week of the same month.

Here in Korea, the first General Assembly was held last July 29, 2007. The objectives of the said assembly were to give updates to the members regarding the progress of the project and in-depth understanding of the article of cooperation as well as its policies. The members expressed their overwhelming support to make the project a real success. As of now, the group has 45 members in which more than 50% have fully paid their capital investment.

Indeed, we have reached the point of no return. With God’s help, everything falls on the right places and thus, the group believes that success is just a few steps away. The members hold on to their vision: “We work to save, we save to invest and we invest for a better tomorrow”.