TACLOBAN CITY – About 400 cyclists joined on Sunday(Nov.6) the ‘Cycling for Climate Justice’ which calls local government units to provide bike lanes and more importantly help reduce carbon emission.
The cyclists, coming from this city and the nearby town of Palo, covered 31.5 kilometers that started at Balyu-an grounds, this city going to Palo town and back to Tacloban.
The route covered areas that were greatly devastated by the storm surge brought by Super Typhoon ‘Yolanda’, namely, the Anibong District in Tacloban where several ships were washed ashore that killed several residents, and the coastal community of Payapay in San Jose district, and to the coastal villages of Salvacion, Baras, and Candahug, all in Palo.
The cycling event was part of the activities that non-government organizations and local government units organized in relation to today’s 9th Yolanda commemoration.
Organizers of the event are calling for everyone to start being active in climate change mitigation efforts which the country had experienced in the wake of Yolanda’s onslaught.
They are also encouraging more people to try biking or cycling as alternative means of transportation to help lessen carbon emission and for local government units to provide equal rights to bikers in using roads.
They are also pushing for government agencies and LGUs to use bike in emergency response when motorbikes and vehicles are impossible to use.
The groups are also calling for rich countries to provide climate reparation to smaller countries that are now starting to experience the worst effect of climate change
The cycling event was organized by the OXFAM Philippines, Philippine Movement for Climate Justice, Firefly Brigade Inc., supported by the city government of Tacloban and the municipality of Palo. (ROEL T. AMAZONA)
