‘Lalacoste’ shoes for grads in N. Cotabato

‘LALACOSTE’ GIFTS Students of a Midsayap school are proud recipients of leather shoes as graduation gifts from North Cotabato Gov. Emmylou “Lala” Taliño-Mendoza. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

KIDAPAWAN CITY—They stepped onto the stage to receive their diploma, but one thing stood out: They proudly wore uniform black leather shoes.

“These were given to us by the provincial government,” said one pupil, who was too shy to give his full name.

Beaming with pride, some of the graduating pupils at an elementary school here said in jest that they were wearing “Lalacoste,” a play on a popular brand of apparel and Gov. Emmylou Taliño-Mendoza’s nickname “Lala.”

On March 20, the provincial government of North Cotabato started distributing the particular type of shoes across the province’s 17 towns and this city for their graduation exercises from March 25 to 27.

Mendoza said this was the second year the provincial government distributed shoes for graduates.

This year a total of 43,893 pairs of shoes—26,884 for elementary and 17,009 for high school graduates—were handed out.