The pillars of Philippine Cooperative Central Fund Federation

In 1978, four pioneering VICTO National Cooperative Federation (VICTO) affiliated primary co-operatives in Cebu, namely; Cebu CFI Capitol Community Credit Cooperative (now the Cebu CFI Community Cooperative), Peoples Credit Cooperative (now the Cebu Peoples Multi-Purpose Cooperative), Guadalupe Parish Credit Cooperative (now the Guadalupe Community Multi-Purpose Cooperative), Cordova Credit Cooperative (now the Cordova Multi-Purpose Cooperative) decided to pool funds at ₱5,000.00 each in response to the indifference of banks to answer cooperatives liquidity needs. This started what was then known as the Co-op Interlending Fund System (CIFS).

The CIFS main and only activity then was to accept fixed deposits (Share Capital Equity) from VICTO affiliated co-operatives and to release loans to them. Through the years, CIFS slowly evolved from being the co-ops’ lender of last resort to becoming the alternative sustainable co-op finance intermediary. The name Visayas Cooperative Central Fund Federation (VCF) was adopted in 1987.

In 1996, the VCF investor co-ops recommended for the “spinning-off” or the separation of VCF from VICTO as a separate and autonomous co-operative federation. The VICTO General Assembly accepted this recommendation. A new organizational set-up was drawn and new officers were elected. Its new vision and mission indicate the commitment of VCF towards the development of co-operative, their individual members and their communities.

The Visayas Cooperative Central Fund Federation was registered with the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) on May 5, 1988 with Registration Number of CEB-F-014. The 2007 General Assembly approved to change of name when it decided to operate nationwide. The CDA approved the new name Philippine Cooperative Central Fund Federation in March 16, 2009 under a new Registration Number CEB-A-530.