The Stories Behind the Crafts
By Garnela Sison | December 12, 2025
The town of Liliw became known for their durable slippers over the south. Eventually, this popularity and reputation made them acquire the title of the Tsinelas (slipper) capital of the Philippines. It is a home for cheap and quality footwear.
A tourism officer and municipal administrator, Mary Maileen Sulibit, said that the first footwear store in the town of Liliw was named Dimasira Footwear established by Casiano Pisuena in 1931. The owner’s first pair of slippers was made with the use of a material called tistis or better known as coconut spathe and interiors of rubber tires, and was dubbed as “the father of the tsinelas”, said Subili. Till today, Pisuena footwear lived up to its name, Dimasira, which is derived from the Tagalog phrase “hindi masira” indestructible
Luckily, my team was able to get the opportunity of visiting the town of Liliw or known as The Slipper Capital of the Philippines. Here we got the opportunity to get to know the slipper makers, and hopefully bring their stories to life.
The street of Gat Tayaw are filled with an abundant amount of slipper stores totalling to over 200 slipper shops. What makes them different from other stores is their handmade trait that is seen in every pair–
showcasing their skill, identity and their commitment to traditional methods. Which are loved by many. The slipper making industry of Liliw makes up to nearly 20% of the town’s economy (Baraoidan, 2017).
However, as the pandemic struck in March 2020, “our sales figures is declining,” said by Margarita Monteinero. During the 2 years, countless interviewed slipper makers lost their jobs and closed their stores due to lack of visitors. “Hindi na siya same as doon sa last six years ago,” noted by Marilen.
As mentioned by Mai and Cheryn, the sales of the majority of the makers were also greatly affected by China products–with its cheap trait compared to Liliw Products. There are also only shopping apps that are more popular “So everything online is what’s taking away our physical customers,” said Margarita– The owner of Badong Footwear. However, they also thinkthat transportation is one of the factors why they have lost their customers. “Malayo ang Liliw, so may mga uh…expenses. Yung transpo nila, gas nila, and food nila. Medyo mahal na kasi lahat na ngayon yung mga bilihin,” as she said.
“A bigger platform will be a gateway to those who haven’t been here yet,” as noted by Margarita. She also mentioned that prior to now, the town of Liliw
was extremely highlighted by the town’s tourism department. “I remember I brought Ramon Bautista here, and he was willing to give a proposal to the tourism department on how to promote Liliw, pero Liliw didn’t want to spend on it so wala na,” as she added.
Intriguingly, half of the interviewees expressed that they believe the majority of the visitors/tourists are not coming for the Liliw slipper instead the “hidden gems” such as cafes and restaurants. For many of them, this is extremely distressing because it is an indication that they are losing their identity.
With all of this, All of the interviewees stated that the slipper industry of Liliw should be highlighted and be given a bigger platform by the media. They might have recovered after the pandemic, but it is not comparable to how they were before COVID 19 pandemic happened.
Visit Liliw, Laguna! Don’t let them lose their identity.