ABS-CBN’s pioneering citizen journalism movement “Bayan Mo, iPatrol Mo” (BMPM) recently marked 10years of empowering Filipinos to become agents of change with the launch of “BIKE@10,” a fundraising bicycle event to raise funds for “Tahanang Walang Hagdanan” on Aug.28, 4 a.m. at the Quezon City Memorial Circle.
ABS-CBN Integrated News Head Ging Reyes and BMPM and News Public Service Head Rowena Paraan led a covenant signing with partner schools and organizations for this project on Aug. 8 when they also announced that BMPM already has 1 million “Bayan Patrollers” on Facebook. This brings the total of Bayan Patrollers to 1.9 million.
“BMPM was born in 2007 and initially it was designed to be a movement to guard the vote. The spirit of vigilance and our commitment to citizen journalism continues to this day and it is one advocacy that we will continue to pursue and promote. From that movement of a few of thousands, I am very proud to share with you that BMPM has grown to over 1.9 million citizen journalists,” Reyes said.
She added that apart from growing in number, the movement has also evolved from promoting vigilance during elections and accountability of public officials to becoming a very effective citizen journalism arm of ABS-CBN’s newsgathering operations. Moreover, as they celebrate 10 years of BMPM, they are once again innovating BMPM to serve the Filipino people better.
“Bike@10,” a 10km ride for a cause started at Liwasang Aurora, Quezon Memorial Circle. Participants, were required to donate at least 10 plastic (PET) bottles, include students and faculty from Miriam College, St. Paul University-Quezon City, Polytechnic University of the Philippines, and STI College, ABS-CBN employees, and members of Rotary International District 3810.
Sales from the bottles collected will be used to buy a motorcycle with a sidecar for use of residents in Tahanang Walang Hagdan, a non-profit organization that aims to uplift the lives of the orthopedically handicapped persons.
For more information and updates on BMPM and “BIKE@10” follow tweet @bayanmo or follow @bayanmoipatrolmo on Facebook.