DOLE gives free bikes to workers displaced by coronavirus

MANILA, Philippines — Some 900 bicycles will be given to workers who have been displaced by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic who wish to work in delivery services, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said Thursday.

“Dahil nagkaroon nga po ng bicycle boom bunsod ng COVID-19, naisip din po ni [DOLE] Sec. [Silvestre] Bello na bigyan yung ating displaced workers, particularly yung nasa informal sector na mga naapektuhan o nawalan ng kabuhayan, magbibigay po ng bisikleta,” Director of DOLE’s Bureau of Workers with Special Concerns Atty. Ma. Karina Trayvilla said in a televised briefing.

(Since there was a bicycle boom due to COVID-19, Sec. Bello thought about giving bicycles to displaced workers, particularly those who are in the informal sector who lost their livelihoods.)

The DOLE has teamed up with private sectors like Grab and LalaMove for the free bicycle initiative.

Those interested can go to the nearest DOLE field office for profiling where they will also be given training on traffic regulation, productivity and financial literacy, occupational safety, and health.

Trayvilla said DOLE will give away 900 free bikes as initial implementation for its launching on Monday in Mandaluyong, Muntinlupa, Pasig at Manila, and in other regions.

“By next month and December, magsasagawa ng pamimigay sa Cebu at ng iba pang regional office,” she added.

(By next month and December, we will also give away bikes in Cebu and other regional offices.)

The initiative stemmed from DOLE’s survey in September which showed 78 percent of 1,119 respondents favored using bicycles in going to work despite the presence of other modes of transportation, Trayvilla said.

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