THE Chamber of Mines of the Philippines, an association of 23 large-scale mining companies employing an estimated 250,000 people around the country, promises to uphold free and honest elections in the country.
In a statement, the chamber called on the mining and allied industries’ two million-strong labor force and their families, particularly in the provinces of Benguet, Zambales, Nueva Vizcaya, Palawan, Batangas, Leyte, Cebu, Surigao, Zamboanga and Davao, to choose a candidate whose integrity is unshaken and unquestionable.
The chamber said: “Let’s choose a candidate with heart and compassion for all Filipinos; a candidate who will not remain passive and indifferent to our calls for genuine inclusive growth and for uplifting the lives of those on the fringes of society.
“Let’s go for a candidate who is truly capable of restoring peace and order in the country so that the brutal and senseless murder of our good friend John Ridsdel will no longer happen.
“ The Chamber will support a candidate who espouses the values by which the mining industry stands—discipline, hard work, honesty, transparency and resilience.
“And a candidate who will heal and not divide the nation.”