MANILA, Philippines--A member of Congress is hopeful that President Benigno Aquino III's decision to take up cycling would enliven ordinary Filipinos of all ages to ride a bicycle for transport, recreation, or for sport.

"It would be great if more Filipinos are drawn into cycling. It is an excellent way to relax, have fun and stay in shape," said Ty, a cycling patron who represents the party-list group LPG Marketers' Association (LPGMA) in Congress.

Photos of the President cycling around the Presidential Security Group compound in Malacañang have hit the front pages of newspapers.

The chief executive has taken up cycling as one of his New Year's resolutions, after he received a mountain bike as a Christmas gift.

"We are also very optimistic that the President's special regard for cycling will translate into increased government support for the sport and our cycling athletes," Ty said.

Ty is a key backer of cycling, which gained popularity in the country due to highly publicized races such as the Tour ng Pilipinas, Tour of Luzon, Tour of Luzon-Visayas, Tour of Mindanao-Visayas-Luzon, Tour of the Philippines, and Marlboro Tour.

He earlier filed House Resolution 766, seeking an inquiry into the flunkey performance of Filipino cyclists in the recent 2010 Asian Games or Asiad in Guangzhou, China.

Filipino cyclists failed to win any medals in the 16th Asiad in November. They also did not establish any new national records.

In the smaller 25th South East Asian (SEA) Games in Vientiane, Laos in 2009, Filipino cyclists also did not bring home any medals.

Ty cited the need for the House committee on youth and sports development to ascertain the conditions that may have caused the poor showing of Filipino cyclists.

"We are counting on the committee to come up with actionable recommendations to help improve the performance of Filipino cyclists in the future competitions," he said.

"There's no reason why our cyclists cannot repeat, or better yet surpass their world-class achievements between 2003 and 2007," Ty added.

He was referring to the combined 25 gold, silver, and bronze medals that Filipino cyclists harvested in the SEA Games of 2003, 2005, and 2007.

In the 15th Asiad in 2006, Filipino cyclists failed to win any medals. Nonetheless, Ty said the cyclists "were at least able to break all Philippine records before the competitions."

The last time a Filipino cyclist won an Asiad medal?a bronze?was in 1998.