By Perfecto T. Raymundo, Jr.
MARIKINA CITY — Rep. Marcy Teodoro on Wednesday (July 9) said that 6,000 to 7,000 Marikenos are depending on shoe industry as a source of livelihood.
Rep. Teodoro made the statement when he viisited and toured the historic Shoe Museum located in P. Rizal Street here.
Marikina is the “Shoe Capital of the Philippines”.
Teodoro said that Malacanang had donated 381 pairs of shoes of former First Lady Imelda R. Marcos which were made locally and from abroad.
The former first lady had been an effective promoter of Marikina shoes here and abroad.
Rep. Teodoro added that the shoes worn by former Presidents Manuel Luis Quezon and Ferdinand Edralin Marcos, Sr. are also displayed in the museum.
“If you buy a pair of shoes from Marikina, you are helping 3 to four people in the shoe-making industry,” Rep. Teodoro said.
The Marikina lawmaker stressed that the tools and materials in the shoe making industry were used and preserved by Marikenos thenselves who are Filipino-Chinese by blood.
Rep. Teodoro pointed out that the Marikina shoe industry had been a huge industry that started in leather shoes and is now making rubber shoes in collaboration with other provinces for their local or domestic materials.
He propounded that national politicians, celebrities and famous people have patronized Marikina shoes.
Aside from shoe industry, Marikina is now becoming popular for their food industry.
The historic Marikina Shoe Museum, which was formerly know as the Marikina Footwear Museum, was opened on Feb. 16, 2001.
It was said that Gen. Macario Sakay, the last Filipino general during the Spanish occupation (1521-1898), was incarcerated in the Shoe Museum.
The property was part of the huge parcel of land of Hacienda Tuazon owned by the Tuazon family.
The same place was made as a garrison during the Japanese occupation (1942-1945). ###
