Three-term Senator and Senatorial Candidate Loren Legarda speaks before Marikeños during UniTeam’s campaign sortie in Marikina on Saturday, March 19.
MANILA, Philippines — Senatorial aspirant Loren Legarda is urging the government to back the shoemakers of Marikina City with further promotion and additional assistance to help them recover from the pandemic’s impact.
“The shoes made in Marikina are of excellent quality, but without adequate support, especially by way of patronizing and marketing the products, and due to the effects of the pandemic, the industry has been struggling to sustain operations,” Legarda said in a statement.
The former three-term senator added that the local and national government should create programs that would help revive the shoe industry that will attract more Filipinos and foreigners to the shoe museum in Marikina.
“We should also enhance our information dissemination and introduce to our shoemakers and MSMEs the available government programs and assistance they are entitled to avail,” she added.
Legarda is the great-grandniece of Don Laureano “Kapitan Moy” Guevara, the founder and father of the shoe industry in Marikina.
She had the opportunity to speak to Marikeños during the UniTeam’s campaign sortie in the City on Saturday.
As a firm advocate for local MSMEs, Legarda has authored Republic Act No. 9501 or the Magna Carta for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Act and funded government programs such as DOLE Pangkabuhayan, DSWD Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP), and DTI Shared Service Facilities.
These programs provide financial capital, resources, and facilities to MSMEs and other sectors that want to start their livelihood to generate more income.
“Nakilala ang Marikina bilang shoe capital ng Pilipinas hindi lamang dahil nandito ang karamihan sa gumagawa ng sapatos, ngunit dahil sa dito ginagawa ang matitibay, magaganda at de-kalidad na sapatos, gawang Pilipino na nararapat lang maipagmalaki sa buong mundo,” Legarda said.
“That’s why we have to do something to keep the industry alive. We need to boost our local industries, such as shoe-making, because these local industries do not only provide employment and livelihood opportunities but also serve as part of our Filipino identity.”
Apart from the shoe industry, Legarda has also shown support to Marikeños, especially the displaced workers and unemployed, by providing job opportunities through the DOLE TulongPanghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) Program to supplement the lack of income of the residents in order to sustain the daily needs of their families amid the prevailing crisis.