“I advocate for the protection of our environment. This activity is also one of the ways to expose my children to become responsible with our nature.” — Rommel Diduyon
By ACE R. MORANDANTE
Davao Today
DAVAO CITY, Philippines – It was not just an hour to protect the environment at the very least. It was also to raise awareness on such cause and to give time for family bonding.
This was the realization of Rommel Diduyon, 39, one of the participants of the 12.1-Kilometer biking around the streets of downtown Davao on Saturday night.
“I advocate for the protection of our environment. This activity is also one of the ways to expose my children to become responsible with our nature,” he told davaotoday.com.
Diduyon, his wife and two teenage kids joined the Night Ride, an event hosted simultaneously in the cities of Cagayan de Oro, Cebu and Manila by Habagat Outdoor Shop.
Here in Davao, over 200 professional and non-professional bikers participated the event, a sharp increase from the original 80 individuals who had their names listed a day before.
“I never expected that this huge number of Davaoeños will be joining,” said Efren Muaña, Vice President and one of Habagat’s Board of Directors.
Although it’s the first in Davao, Habagat has been hosting the event for the past three years. And just like from the previous Night Rides, according to Habagat-Davao’s supervisor Verlind Basira, more people show at the actual night.
Muaña said that aside from the main objective of the event, that is to reduce carbon footprints, they also want to advocate health lifestyle through exercise and to give people the option to use earth-friendly means of transportation.
He also shared his company’s latest campaign: to encourage people to use bicycles since “there’s a growing interest in biking” in the country.
Muaña hopes that by next year, they will be able to cover all of the city’s main routes. And that both the local and national governments will finally allocate a lane for bicycle riders.
And as the Night Ride came to its end by 9:45 PM Saturday at the Manila Town Square, everybody felt contented for contributing even their little time for Mother Earth. (Ace R. Morandante/davaotoday.com)
