September 22, 2016
“NO one will be left behind.” This is the new
mantra of the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines (COMP) as they embark on a
program to boost inclusive growth in mining communities.
COMP President Benjamin
Philip Romualdez recently led COMP, composed of big players in the mining
industry, in formalizing a partnership with the Department of Trade and
Industry (DTI) and Go Negosyo for the Mentor Me Program.
“This is what we want
for all Filipinos and [for] us in the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines. It
is our ardent desire to see the lives in all our mining communities uplifted,”
Romualdez said in a news statement released on Thursday.
The Mentor Me Program
of Go Negosyo and the DTI aims to help micro, small and medium entrepreneurs
scale up their businesses through weekly coaching and mentoring by business
owners and practitioners or different functional areas of entrepreneurship to
be held in Negosyo Centers nationwide.
Under
the memorandum of agreement, big mining companies belonging to COMP will
integrate the Mentor Me Program in the social development and management
programs (SDMP) of COMP members.
Under the SDMP, mining
companies are required to spend 1.5 percent of their mining and milling costs
on social development programs.
Members of COMP
allocate some P500 million to social development programs in their mining
jurisdiction.
This will allow some of
the resources for social entrepreneurship and self-reliant community building.
“Member-companies of
the Chamber of Mines [of the Philippines] are advocates for inclusive business
and have been contributing to the growth and welfare of their host
communities,” the agreement reads.
According to Romualdez,
the program will institutionalize and widen the initiative tools in mining
communities, and will equip residents with the skills and know-how to help them
elevate their businesses.
This will align the
mining firms’ existing programs with the initiatives of the DTI and Go Negosyo.
“More important, the program will help residents become self-reliant well
beyond the mine’s life and long after a mining firm has already left the
community,” he said.
Go Negosyo Founder Joey
Concepcion has expressed optimism over the partnership, the first of its kind
in an industry with not just one corporation but all member-companies of the
COMP.
“This is just the start
of a long journey for inclusive growth. Together with our partners and
entrepreneurs, we are building an enabling environment and creating a stronger
entrepreneurship culture,” Concepcion said.
“We thank the DTI and
Go Negosyo for this partnership and we look forward to working toward making
the objectives of our President Rodrigo Duterte to uplift those in need and to
establish self-reliant communities,” Romualdez said.
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