KIM, KWANG MI

BSM II
SOCCORO RAMOS AND HER JOURNEY TO SUCCESS
Sometimes in life, we don’t realize much of our own strength until we come face to face
with challenges and our greatest weaknesses. These terms ring true for Socorro Cancio
Ramos, also known as Nanay Coring, who is a 92 year-old founding matrirach of the country’s
top bookstore, National Book Store. She was married to Jose T. Ramos and together they built
the bookstore that we see today. However, before their great success, life did not come easy for
Soccoro as she also struggled during her early years.
Having to live with an extended family, Soccoro, as a child, witnessed her parents, Jose
and Emilia, struggled to raise their family. As a result, she decided to find a way to help out. At
the age of 12, she already went through various jobs such as in a candy factory, a cigarette
factory, a factory making shorts, and even in a restaurant as a waitress. Despite their economic
status, her parents pushed all of them to finish their studies even until high school. As soon as
she was able to graduate, she began working as a salesgirl in a bookstore opened by her
brother, Manuel Cancio and his wife Doña Juana Cancio, the Goodwill Bookstore in Escolta.
The brother of Juana, Jose Ramos, was also working in the said store. Soon enough they fell in
love and got married in 1942. Soccoro’s brother and his wife, decided to sell the bookstore to
the married couple, as they have seen Soccoro’s potential in managing the business. Together,
they built the National Book Store that we see today.
But even when they already had their own business, the trials of her life were as if a
never ending one and this tested her values and resiliency as an entrepreneur. During the
Japanese occupation, managing and constructing the bookstore was a daunting job at the time.
Since the colonizers would smash the books and rip the pages off if they found them
uninteresting, the majority of their books were discarded. When World War II broke out, the
Ramoses moved their business to wholesalers for soap, candies, and other everyday
necessities. Unfortunately, the shop was burned down after Manila's liberation. In 1945, typhoon
Gene struck the region and that soaked all their stuff off. All they had left were soaked and torn-
up books. As a result, they'll have to reconstruct the shop from scratch once more.
But even with the trials they have faced, Soccoro and her husband was still able to stand
up and made National Book Store the greatest book store in the market today. They even
have already established other businesses such as a grocery store, publishing companies, a
bookstore, and a department store. In one of her interviews, Soccoro said, “Things cannot be
gotten so quickly or easily. But dreams can be fulfilled. If you want something hard and you
really work hard for it, you will get it.” I believe that what made Soccoro successful was because
she is the type of person who seems to always push through despite the extreme downfalls she
undergoes. National Book Store was a successful business because Soccoro and her husband
did not give up on it no matter how many times it broke down. Even during her early years, she
was able to find and make way to earn money because she was displeased with their situation.
Indeed, dreams can be fulfilled if you work hard for something that you want.
Soccoro’s journey in her business was truly an inspiring one. They have shed a light on
to people to never give up on the things they really want. She inspired me to always know my
goals and focus on it no matter what happens. Life may be full of surprises which would cause
us to fail at times but learning from Soccoro, let us never took this in a negative way and instead
let us continue to rise up and build what we truly want simply because it is the way to success.
As they say, “difficult roads, lead to beautiful destination.”

References
Buarao, J. (2020, September 14). Socorro Ramos: National Book Stores Matriarch’s
Success Story. Retrieved from JB: https://josephbuarao.com/blog/socorro-ramos-
national-book-stores-matriarchs-success-story/