“Bawat Isa, Mahalaga”: Story of Life with Asiapro

From a very young age, Jeannina “Jean” Noynay Lu-ang already experienced the hardships in life. She came from a less fortunate family. Jean’s father was a habal-habal driver who died when she was just seven years old. She and her two sisters were able to continue their studies through the efforts of her mother and the help of relatives.

During her college years, Jean received a scholarship which helped in her school expenses. The scholarship was a big boost to her academic success as their family income from her mother’s work at a local carenderia was limited. Jean finished BS in Accountancy as Magna Cum Laude at the University of Mindanao in Davao City. When she took the Certified Public Accountant Licensure Examination, Jean got the 15th top spot among 5,341 examinees. This is noteworthy as the passing rate for the May 2002 board exam was a mere 19%.

Jean started working at Asiapro Cooperative in Davao City in 2007 carrying with her a five-year external auditing experience from the prestigious SyCip Gorres Velayo & Co. She was assigned as Finance Head at the time and was tasked to help increase the financials in South Mindanao Region.

Coming from a corporate setting, at first, Jean thought she will not stay long in Asiapro. But then, she saw positive changes in her work environment especially during the transformation of the entire organization from Asiapro to an independent Tnalak Labor Service Cooperative. With a challenging but open work environment, eventually, Jean developed love for her job.  Jean cites the pension fund and security of tenure as some of the benefits that make Tnalak a good institution to be with.  She also enjoys the dynamic set of responsibilities entrusted to her through the years by the management and coop members.

Through Tnalak, Jean was able to hone herself and apply to current work all of her previous experiences. It was through the cooperative that she was able to improve personally and financially.

As she stated, “Unti-unti akong nakatulong sa pamilya ko. Napagraduate ko ang kapatid ko ng Computer Engineering. Sa tulong ng serbisyong pautang ni Tnalak, nakapagpundar ako ng bahay at nagkaroon ako ng sasakyan.”
The cooperative’s leaders serve as her inspiration in the cooperative. These leaders are always there to coach her and even give her advice on her personal life. Jean looks up to them in terms of professional work.

As Jean herself experienced the cooperative’s care for her as a member, she intends to give back by making every member feel important. Her efficiency on her work and her being approachable to members are just some of the ways to attain this.

Jean believes that “Bawat isa, mahalaga” is still evident and relevant in the cooperative. She remarked that the most important aspect is to recognize the talents and skills of the members. Moreover, Jean uttered that with proactive managers, the cooperative will last.