Every day, driving through my village, I see many bikers, young and old, going around, exercising and keeping fit and healthy even during the pandemic. Now I am starting to see how biking can be a powerful force in protecting and boosting actual livelihoods.

It was such inspiring news when major leader in sports Manny V. Pangilinan recently gave away 500 bicycles as part of the MVP Group’s “Bike for Livelihood” program aimed at helping affected workers nationwide keep their jobs amid the pandemic.

The donation was initiated by the PLDT-Smart Foundation, One Meralco Foundation, Metro Pacific Investments Foundation and First Pacific Company Limited and coursed through the “Donate a Bike, Save a Job” program by TV personality and former volleyball star Gretchen Ho.

It was done in celebration of World Bicycle Day, as well as MVP’s 75th birthday on July 14 and First Pacific Co. Ltd.’s 40th anniversary.

“I could see that the biking project was something that could help the livelihood of our people,” said MVP in a statement.

“At the end of the day, the best solution to poverty is livelihood. If you could provide them with means of making themselves a livelihood, whether by delivering food, medicine or water, I think that’s something we should support,” he added.

With this, they have expanded livelihood opportunities while pledging support to bike-friendly initiatives like bike parking to encourage everyone including their employees to take biking.

The hope with all this is to ultimately provide people with the tools, not just to survive the pandemic, but to be able to thrive in the new normal. It’s a great initiative where bicycles have given them the means to go to work instead of walking for hours. At the same time… it’s good for health and wellness.