By: Alex Roy Dela Cruz
CITY OF MALOLOS–Former DTI Assistant Secretary Carissa Cruz Evangelista and her team recently visited the Philippine Jewelry Center (PJC) in Pandayan, City of Meycauayan, also well-known as the jewelry capital of Bulacan. The PJC is a prominent institution on jewelry industry, managed by the Meycauayan Jewelry Industry Association, Inc. or MJIA. The visit was intended to interview jewelers and assess the current status of the jewelry industry as part of their commitment to develop a comprehensive Philippine Jewelry Roadmap that will serve as basis for program implementation for the growth and development of the jewelry industry. In support, DTI-Bulacan Provincial Office, represented by STIDS Alex Roy Dela Cruz joined the team during the visit.
Big Players such as the owners of Golden Hills Jewelry, Bijou Jewellery, Kit Silver Jewelry, P. Zuñiga Jewelry, Maricar’s Jewelry, Ricel’s Jewelry and other officers of the jewelry association led by MJIA’s Chairperson Cecilia Ramos and President Peter Zuñiga willingly shared their thoughts and ideas during the interview. That includes pertinent data on their production and narration of their wide experiences as the key players of the industry.
The team also visited the production site of Golden Hills Jewellery owned by Antonio “Boy” Atienza located at Saluyosoy, City of Meycauayan, Bulacan. Mr. Atienza toured the team on each section of the production facility. He explained the modern jewelry making process using computer-aided designs and new technologies and showed the astonishing world-class outputs.
A follow-through virtual meeting was arranged with Ms. Carissa’s team and DTI-Bulacan on December 11, 2023 to determine government interventions to the industry. It was attended by OIC-ARD Edna Dizon, STIDS Lota Yasa, and STIDS Alex Roy Dela Cruz. The summary of DTI assistance to the jewelry industry, Action Plan for the jewelry sector, the concerns of the jewelry center, and the essential needs of the industry were among the topics discussed during the meeting.
The inputs during this meeting and the previous interview with the industry players will form part of a wholistic roadmap that scrutinize the whole supply and value chain of the jewelry industry from mining of gold and silver, sourcing of precious stones, distribution of raw materials, down to the channels of distribution and end market in order to come up with efficient policies and programs leaning towards the advancement of the industry to be at par with the existing global standards.
