Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu on Friday backed calls to promote bicycle riding and keep cyclists safe while on the road.He said the use of a bicycle “is not only good for the health of the cyclist but also for other people and the environment.”
“This pandemic has taught each and every one of us a lot of lessons in life, especially in the way we conduct our daily business. Taking care of our environment is also taking care of our health,” he said.
“This proposal for the use of bicycles should be supported as it has become an alternative mode of transportation that is efficient and emission-free not only here in our country but also elsewhere around the world,” he added.
Also, to ensure the safety of bike riders and other active transport users in Quezon City, Mayor Joy Belmonte on Friday launched a voluntary bike registration program.
She urged bicycle-riding groups and other active transport users to register their bikes through the program.
“As an advocate of active transportation, I encourage bikers and bike riding groups to register their bicycles through this program for us to be able to assist them and ensure their safety,” she said.
Based on the data from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ Environmental Management Bureau, there was a significant decrease of 39 percent in the monthly average concentration of total suspended particulates (TSP) from the air quality monitoring stations in Metro Manila from March 2020 to April 2021.
From March 2020 to April 2021, the monthly average concentration of particulate matter 10 increased by 43 percent.
The monthly average concentration of PM 2.5 also increased by 5 percent.
The agency credited such observations to the motor vehicle emissions in the National Capital Region due to private and public transport vehicles on the roads.
Undersecretary for Solid Waste Management and Local Government Units Concerns Benny Antiporda cited while the House of Representatives has yet to pass a law on the safety of cycling, local government units must pass measures designating bike lanes to ensure cyclists safety.
“It’s high time that we enact a bicycle law to protect our commuters. With the COVID-19 pandemic, many of our people have now been travelling using their bicycles on their way to work, and it is only right to assure them of their safety while travelling,” he said.
Belmonte said: “I hope that through this bike registration program, more residents will be inspired to take alternative transportation because they can be assured of their safety and security here in Quezon City.”
She tasked the Department of Public Order and Safety’s Green Transport Office to implement the program.
Ordinance SP 2988 of 2020 or the QC Safe Cycling Ordinance has paved the way to the voluntary bike registration that shall maintain all pertinent information on cyclists and active transport users for the purpose of ensuring the continuous improvement of safe cycling and active transport program.
Retired police general Elmo San Diego, DPOS chief, said the program would help bikers locate their bikes in case of loss or theft, and assist them in the event of an accident.
“The importance of this bike registration program is to help our bikers in case their bicycles cannot be located or are stolen. We can aid them, and they can avail of the assistance of the police in investigating missing bikes because the owners can readily present a certificate of ownership issued by DPOS,” he said.