Ten days after historic Typhoon Haiyan made landfall in the Eastern Samar region of the Philippines on Nov. 8, JCK has learned that the golden pearl farms operated by Jewelmer did not escape the storm’s wrath. Two of the company’s farms in the Palawan Islands, which are located south of Manila and west of Tacloban in the Leyte province, sustained severe damage.

“We knew a super typhoon was coming and we made preparations to secure our people and our assets,” said a statement from the pearler. “We suffered damage, but fortunately not a single life was lost; the majority of our infrastructure, however, will have to be rebuilt at considerable expense.

“More urgently, some of our farm staff is from provinces that were badly affected by Typhoon Yolanda/Haiyan,” the statement continued. “Most lost all of their property, with their families having lost their entire livelihoods. Some have family members who were gravely impacted or remain unaccounted for. We are one with them in their moments of sadness in grief.

“It is time to reflect on what are the actions we can take in the face of a typhoon and aftermath of record-breaking proportions,” Jewelmer concluded.

At press time, no further information was available from Jewelmer, whose pearls and operations were featured in “The Golden Rush in JCK‘s September 2013 issue.

To help families directly impacted by Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda, people are asked to donate to the Save the Palawan Seas Foundation (a Jewelmer-initiated effort that educates and arms native Filipino islanders and non-employees with sustainable ways to work) via the Jewelmer website.

Alternatively, send relief goods to:

Save Palawan Sea Foundation INC
Room 706, National Life Insurance Building
6762 Ayala Ave., Makati City,
Manila, Philippines 1226  

Questions should be directed to savepalawanseas@yahoo.com, or call 0908-913-9804 or 0917-824-1488.

JCK