Koko Pimentel backs shoemakers; vows to uphold Munding’s Marikina legacy (2025)

MANILA, Philippines – Millennial entrepreneur Mia Santos, owner of Niffty Shoes in Barangay Malanday, Marikina, still recalls the joy in the eyes of the 1,000 top-performing grade school students who received free Marikina-made shoes last year under the Libreng Sapatos program.

It was Santos and her team who were tapped to organize the project—sourcing, producing, and fitting the shoes, all proudly crafted in their local workshop.

“That initiative didn’t just help children,” Santos said. “It also helped the shoemakers.”

For Santos, whose shop is among the roughly 200 registered manufacturers and retailers still active in Marikina as of 2025, programs like these are lifelines in an industry long battered by neglect and competition from imports.

“Marikeños are naturally skilled—we wouldn’t be called the Shoe Capital of the Philippines if our craftsmanship and talent weren’t world-class,” she said. “What we need now are leaders who walk in rhythm with our struggles. We need champions. We’re here to stay—and we will never give up on Marikina.”

With the 2025 elections approaching, Santos said she’s not just looking at platforms—she’s looking for someone who has puso para sa mga sapatero.

Decades ago, Marikina was synonymous with quality shoes. Known as the “Shoe Capital of the Philippines,” it was once home to over 1,300 registered manufacturers and employed more than 300,000 workers at its peak. That golden era was largely credited to Mayor Osmundo “Munding” de Guzman, who served for over 26 years starting in 1959.

File photo of 2024 opening of Marikina show museum attended by former first lady Imelda Marcos and first Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos

It was de Guzman who institutionalized the city’s reputation by founding the Marikina Shoe Trade Commission in 1967 and spearheading the First National Footwear Industry Workshop-Convention in 1974. Then First Lady Imelda Romualdez Marcos regularly graced local trade fairs and promoted Marikina-made shoes on the international stage.

READ: Marikina shoemakers: ‘Still here, still fighting’

But as decades passed, the lack of support pushed the industry to the brink of collapse.

Now, Santos and hundreds of others are hoping that the city’s legacy can still be salvaged.

On April 22, 2025, the city will mark a renewed push. The exhibit titled “Marikina: Pamana ng Sapatos – Kahapon, Ngayon at Bukas” will open at Freedom Park. Free to the public, the event will showcase locally made products and celebrate the city’s shoe heritage. Shoemakers, bag craftsmen, MSMEs, and food entrepreneurs will take part—a reminder that the spirit of Marikina’s industries is still alive, if only waiting to be fully supported.

File photo of 2024 opening of Marikina show museum attended by former first lady Imelda Marcos and first Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos

The legacy of Mayor de Guzman lives on in his granddaughter, Special Envoy to the UAE Kathryna Yu De Guzman Pimentel, and her husband, Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III. Last year, they distributed free locally made shoes to 1,000 top-performing public school students in District 1 of Marikina and about 800 public school teachers. Surprisingly, it was the first initiative of its kind in a city celebrated as the Shoe Capital of the Philippines.

The former Senate President, now running for congressman of the first district, has taken the advocacy further by filing Senate Bill No. 2994—a measure that proposes the creation of modern Shoe Manufacturing Hubs nationwide, with Marikina as the pilot site.

“The goal is to bolster the country’s footwear industry by supporting MSMEs through access to shared service facilities and modern infrastructure,” Pimentel said.

His bill includes tax incentives, subsidies, R&D support, and a “Buy Local, Wear Local” campaign—an ambitious, comprehensive attempt to revive an industry that helped define a city.

Locally, he is promoting the BTS Program, short for Baha, Trabaho, at Sapatos, a platform that ties flood mitigation, employment, and industrial revival into one cohesive plan for Marikina’s future.

Under the proposed measure, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), in coordination with local government units, will be tasked with identifying strategic locations nationwide for the establishment of these hubs.

A Shoe Industry Development Program will also be created, to be led by the DTI in coordination with the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).

A nationwide “Buy Local, Wear Local” campaign will be implemented under the Consumer Awareness Program to promote Filipino-made footwear and encourage public support.

“This bill seeks to revitalize the Philippine shoe industry by instituting a comprehensive framework to enhance its competitiveness in both domestic and international markets,” Pimentel said.

“Given the Filipinos’ resilience, hard work, and creativity, there remains strong potential to reclaim the country’s foothold in the shoe industry,” he added.