Loren Legarda calls for increased Support for Marikina MSMEs

Senatorial candidate, Loren Legarda, has called for the increased promotion of more assistance for the shoemakers and other small businesses in Marikina City. She has stressed that funding and technical support be provided to help MSMEs recoup their losses following the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The shoes made in Marikina are of excellent quality, but without adequate support, especially by way of patronizing and marketing the products, and due to the effects of the pandemic, the industry has been struggling to sustain operations,” Legarda said.

Legarda has been known to heavily support MSMEs as she authored Republic Act No. 9501, or the Magna Carta for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Act. Furthermore, she has funded government programs that provide financial capital, resources, and facilities to MSMEs and other sectors that wish to generate more income.

“We need to have programs that would help revive the industry. Support from both the national and local governments is needed. We can invite more Filipinos and foreigners to visit the shoe museum in Marikina and organize trade fairs to showcase their products while observing the minimum health protocols. We should also enhance our information dissemination and introduce to our shoemakers and MSMEs the available government programs and assistance they are entitled to avail,” she added.

In her efforts to enhance the support for the people of Marikina City, Legarda has provided job opportunities through the DOLE Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) Program. According to the candidate, the program will supplement residents to sustain the basic needs of their families amidst the pandemic.

“Nakilala ang Marikina, bilang shoe capital ng Pilipinas hindi lamang dahil nandito ang karamihan sa gumagawa ng sapatos, ngunit dahil sa dito ginagawa ang matitibay, magaganda at de-kalidad na sapatos, gawang Pilipino na nararapat lang maipagmalaki sa buong mundo. Nasabukan ko na din pong mag-suot ng gawang-Marikina at bilib ako sa galing ng ating mga shoemakers. That’s why we have to do something to keep the industry alive. We need to boost our local industries, such as shoe-making, because these local industries do not only provide employment and livelihood opportunities, but also serve as part of our Filipino identity,” Legarda, great grand niece of Don Laureano “Kapitan Moy” Guevara, the founder and father of the shoe industry in Marikina, concluded