It must be difficult to be in President Rodrigo Duterte’s shoes.
But to wear shoes like his? Easy! Just go to Marikina, the shoe capital of the Philippines.
A photo of President Duterte showing off his custom-made leather shoes has now gone viral. The tough-talking leader proudly wore the handmade gift on his meeting with United States Secretary of State John Kerry on Wed.
The shoes were sent by Marikina shoemaker Rolando de Guzman Santos to Boni Adaza of Chardin fashion house, which designs barongs for Duterte.
Santos was hoping that the President could wear the brogue-style-boots for his inauguration last month.
“Meron ngang nag-message sa akin. She’s a daughter of a shoemaker from Marikina. She PMd me through Facebook. Sabi niya sir, kabayan yung tawag niya, she was telling kung puwede ba daw ipadala niya yung gawa na sapatos ng tatay niya for President Duterte,” Adaza said in a Philstar article by Alixandra Caole Vila.
(“There was someone who messaged me. She’s a daughter of a shoemaker from Marikina. She PMd me through Facebook. She said sir, she even called me kabayan, she asked if she can send the shoes made by her father for the President.”)
The shoes arrived a couple of days before the inauguration, however, the President didn’t wear them because they didn’t pair well with his black pants.
According to Santos’ daughter Rosemarie, the 68-year-old shoemaker has been making shoes for 54 years.
“Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte.. sana maisuot niyo po ang sapatos na ginawa ng tatay ko para sayo.. patuloy prin po akong umaasa,” she wrote on her Facebook page.
(“President Rodrigo Duterte… I hope you get to wear the shoes made by my father for you…. I’m still hoping.”)
We can only imagine how Santos and her daughter would look at the Preseident’s shoes on every occassion they get to see if he finally got to wear their humble gift.
They weren’t disappointed!
Though the President was not able to wear the shoes at his State of the Nation Address (SONA), he proudly wore it a couple of days later The photo was even shared on the Presidential Communications Facebook page.
Days before the SONA, Marikina City Mayor Marcelino Teodoro urged his fellow politicians to wear local products.
Rosemarie expressed her thanks to those who supported her father, especially the President.
