The story behind President Duterte's Marikina-made shoes! Prepare to be wipe your eyes!

ADS MANILA – Did you know that the shoes President Rodrigo Duterte wore during his meeting with United States Secretary of State John Kerry last Wednesday was a gift from a 68-year-old shoemaker from Marikina?

This is the official and original draft of Duterte's Marikina-made Shoes.

According to a report from Philstar.com, the brown brogue-style boots were made by Rolando de Guzman Santos.





His daughter Rosemarie sent the shoes to Chardin, which designs barongs for the President, hoping that these will be worn during the inauguration.






“She was telling kung pwede ba raw ipadala niya ‘yung mga gawa na sapatos ng tatay niya for President Duterte,” Boni Adaza of Chardin told Philstar.com.

In a Facebook post last June, Rosemarie said she would do everything so her father could achieve his dream – that a president will wear the shoes he made.

President Duterte was not able to wear Santos’ shoes during the inauguration and even his first State of the Nation Address, with Chardin designers noting that it doesn’t match his outfit.

Early this week, however, Santos’ dream came true. In a video courtesy of PTV-4, President Duterte was seen praising his custom-made shoes from Marikina to members of his Cabinet. 

“Ang Filipino-made, sa craftsmanship number one,” he said.

Marikina is known as the country’s shoe capital.


Sources: TNP / ABS-CBN ADS MGID