The province of Palawan is home to several breathtaking nature spots. It is one of the top tourist destinations in the Philippines, and among the best places to marvel at the beauty of the environment is in the municipalities of El Nido and San Vicente.
Filipino and foreign visitors alike have all raved about the immaculate waters, enchanting lagoons, white-sand beaches, and diverse coral reefs that abound El Nido. On the other hand, San Vicente boasts of having the longest white beach in the country.
These two municipalities are no urban jungle. Hence, moving around the communities requires a bit of an added effort and creativity. But all these are worth it as the places that await travelers never disappoint.
That said, the Primer Group of Companies, represented by Kristine Villaflor, program manager of the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Department, and her team together with Firefly Brigade Philippines took the initiative in bringing Heroes on Wheels to El Nido and San Vincente, Palawan.
San Vicente police officers test the bicycles turned over to them via the Heroes on Wheels project
The turnover in El Nido took place last October 24, 2018 at the City Hall Gymnasium, while the bikes for San Vicente were handed a day after at the Municipal Hall.
Primer Group representatives with Municipality of El Nido officers
Heroes on Wheels has been in existence for four years with numerous community leaders and organizations benefiting from bike donations.
In El Nido and San Vicente, Tourism Police, auxiliary officers, and local tourism officers were given the said bikes to make their jobs more efficient and effective, giving them easier access to remote and unreachable areas as well as having the medium to transfer from one place to another knowing that other vehicles may not be able to reach specific areas.
Signing of the memorandum of agreement (MOA) between Primer Group and Municipality of El Nido
The Tourist Police Units (TPUs) were established to ensure the safety of both domestic and foreign tourists following a memorandum of understanding between the Department of Tourism (DOT) and Philippine National Police (PNP).
Enforcing laws and ordinances relative to the protection of lives, properties, and environment will be some of their responsibilities. Part of their daily task is to monitor and investigate all cases involving tourists, eventually taking immediate and appropriate action to resolve conflicts. The TPUs ensure the regular patrol for the safety and protection of tourists and residents.
The Tourism Police, auxiliary officers, and tourism officers, with the use of the bikes, will have a more productive and systematic method in delivering their jobs which helps the tourism of Palawan.
El Nido Tourist Police officers with their new bicycles from Primer Group
“Kasi po, isa sa pinaka-effective na medium is ang bisikleta kasi nga mabilis, di mahirap dalhin, tahimik, walang gasoline, at puwede mo siyang dalhin sa pinakamaliliit na daanan ng mga eskinita.” says PO2 Jose Santiago L. Ferro. “So kahit po doon kinamayor kaya pumasok kahit masikip, basta well trained na bike patroller, kaya niya dalhin ‘yung bike niya at kaya niyang patakbuhin sa daan ang bisikleta niya. Marami pong salamat talaga.”
(“One of the most effective medium is the bicycle because it’s fast, easy to bring, makes less noise, does not use gasoline, and can enter even the narrowest street. As long as the bike patroller is well trained, the person can use the bicycle well. Thank you so much.”)
San Vicente Tourist Police Officers with their bikes
Sustainable tourism is also being promoted by this program because of the bikes’ environmental impact, as it allows transportation without harmful chemical emissions. Small acts such as the mere bike riding lead to bigger impact on the future, especially if the range of bike riders widens as time passes by.
Moreover, the recipients of the bikes will enjoy cycling while engrossing the beauty of the surroundings as they travel from point A to point B. Biking also serves as a workout, which is essential in maintaining a person’s good health condition.
Primer Group’s commitment to this activity is shared by Firefly Brigade Philippines, an organization that promotes the use of bicycles within the community, to ensure that the recipients will be equipped with knowledge in maintaining these bikes long term through training in its maintenance and quick repairs. In fact, Firefly Brigade is a longstanding partner of the company.
Jack Yabut of the Firefly Brigade conducts a bike clinic
San Vicente Municipal Administrator James Paul Inasawan says, “On behalf of the Municipality of San Vicente, we thank the Primer Group of Companies for choosing us as the project’s beneficiary. These bikes are of big help as we strive to promote a positive working relationship among the community while maintaining the highest level of integrity and professionalism.”
MOA signing between Primer Group and Municipality of San Vicente
The Heroes on Wheels program has also conducted bike donations in Palo, Leyte, among other stops, wherein the Doctors to the Barrios (DTTB) was the beneficiary organization.
“This program was created out of the need for better mobilization in some remote areas. Doctors to the Barrios was given this bike so that their members can easily access remote areas and respond to people’s needs. We came up with the bike-donation project so they can use this to access the hard-to-reach parts of the area after we observed the need to extend their reach to the different communities like in Palo, Leyte in connection to the rehabilitation project of the youth there.” Villaflor said.
Primer CSR Program Manager Kristine Villaflor talks about the program and extends gratitude to all those who supported
“We gave bikes to the youth leaders which they can use as they go to different barrios to teach music and arts to the other youths of Palo, Leyte. It was deemed a success because they were able to initiate the creation of a separate project on their own called “Bicyclean.”
“We are also looking forward to the other communities’ efforts in sustaining the project and I was so happy to hear that Mr. James will be a part of it. This is just the beginning as we would like to be an inspiration to the organizations as they continue what we had started because they will be the ones looking after the project long term. We are just inspiring everyone to follow, replicate and sustain it,” she expounded.
“Actually, this is not the first time we had a partnership here. If you could remember, Romi Garduce and University of the Philippines (UP) Mountaineers went here to promote wildlife conservation through the ‘Padyak Palawan’ project. Primer Group is into retail and distribution of several outdoor brands that’s why our program caters to outdoor and environmental conservation. This is lending to our business and in return, we would like to thank the society by having this kind of program.”
“In the future, we will have another program for sustainable tourism if San Vicente would like to explore with us. We would also like to explore other community livelihood opportunities such as community-based tourism.”
Also, the Municipality of El Nido’s mayor Nieves Rosento declared her gratitude on behalf of her constituents for having the Heroes on Wheels program pedal its way to their town.
“[We] would like to express our heartfelt gratitude for the bikes, gears, and training that you have provided this municipality. The bikes are being used daily to apprehend environmental violators, issue tickets to our smoking ordinance violators, ensure tourist safety in the Poblacion barangays, and help traffic enforcers in their rounds within the town.
The bikes have a big impact on the municipality. Being a prime tourist destination, the [visitors] appreciate the visibility of our tourism personnel and auxiliary police roving in El Nido.”
This goes to show that the program is indeed providing solutions for the remote areas here in our country. That said, the Primer Group of Companies is looking forward to implementing more sustainable programs for the different barangays and communities in the Philippines.
Primer CSR would like to thank its sponsors, F2 Logistics for the free shipment of bikes to Palawan, and Primer brands Fox and Recreation Outdoor eXchange (R.O.X.) for providing gears and freebies to the beneficiaries.
For more information about the project, contact Kristine Villaflor at kristine.villaflor@primergrp.com or at local 504/520.