Police tap cyclists to keep roads safe for Holy Week

LUCENA CITY—Aside from the usual police patrols, a battalion of local cycling enthusiasts will be on the road to ensure the safety of Holy Week travelers.

“Quezon Citizens Bike-on Patrol” (Que-Ci-Bip) employs weekend cyclists as “force multipliers” to assist the police in handling the holiday traffic.

Partners

“You will be our valuable partners in making our highways safe and orderly for our tourists, pilgrims and passing motorists,” Senior Supt. Rhoderick Armamento, Quezon police provincial director, told bikers who gathered with policemen during the launching of the project at a shopping mall in Lucena City on Saturday morning.

Senior Supt. Ismael Dickson, Calabarzon police regional director for administration, also a biker, attended the ceremony.

Armamento said every police station in the province’s 39 towns and two cities would have their own Que-Ci-Bip chapters.

The volunteer cyclists will undergo three days of training and seminars to learn the basics of traffic management and road safety.

The volunteers will also be trained in providing first aid.

Armamento said every cyclist group on patrol would be joined by a team of police bikers.

He said the volunteers would also assist “tourist police” in maintaining traffic management in popular summer vacation spots and Lenten pilgrimage sites in the province.

The Quezon police “Blue Riders,” more than 50 fully trained motorcycle-riding cops, have also been deployed to the Maharlika Highway and other major roads in the province to protect travelers.

The motorcycle cops would keep watch on motorists along the 150-kilometer Maharlika Highway, which stretches from the Quezon-Laguna boundary in Tiaong town to the Quezon-Bicol boundary in Calauag town.

Anticrime drive

Armamento said the volunteer cyclists would also be transformed into partners of the police in the campaign against illegal drugs and other crimes.

“But we will not allow them to place their lives in danger. Providing us valuable information through our dedicated hotline is already a valuable help,” he said.

Citing a study, Armamento said the province had more than 2,000 active weekend cyclists.