BAGUIO CITY — Apparently alarmed over the worsening air pollution and the uncollected garbage in this mountain resort city, members of the Baguio City Police Office (BCPO) will conduct a routine bicycle patrol in the performance of their daily activities to help lessen the smoke being emitted by their patrol vehicles as a contribution in the effort to clean the city’s air.

Moreover, the bicycle-riding cops will also help pick-up the garbage scattered around the city to help in the local government’s effort to bring back the beauty and cleanliness of the Summer Capital of the Philippines.

Senior Supt. Roberto Quinto Soriano, BCPO officer-in-charge, claimed that aside from being environmentally-friendly, the conduct of the bike patrol will help improve the physical fitness of policemen so that they could effectively and efficiently discharge their anti-criminality and peacekeeping efforts to the satisfaction of the community.

The new police official mandated all law enforcers in the 10 police stations and community police assistance centers (COMPACs) to regularly conduct the bicycle patrol in their respective areas of jurisdiction in order to minimize the air pollutants being emitted by their patrol vehicles which contribute in the worsening air quality in the city, especially during the onslaught of the dry spell.

Soriano admitted the city’s air quality is being compromised by the emissions from motor vehicles regularly plying the city’s streets, thus, the need for all sectors to do simple things like riding on bicycles and walking to help reduce the pollutants in the city’s air.

At the same time, the police official demanded the concerned government agencies to issue the proper deputation orders to the law enforcers so that they could consistently implement the city’s anti-smoke belching ordinance in relation to the provisions of the Clean Air Act.

According to him, the sustained effort in the implementation of national and local laws relative to smoke belching will surely discipline erring owners of motor vehicles, thus, they will subject their vehicles to regular maintenance so that the emission of bad smoke that pollutes the city’s air will be minimized.

Considering that they have set an example on how individuals and groups could contribute in helping clean the city’s air, Soriano challenged other government agencies and concerned sectors to replicate their efforts so that the bandwagon effect will be felt through the restoration of the city’s famous pine-scented air similar to what people enjoyed in the early 1970s where the city’s population was just over 100,000.

Because of the election period, some sectors in the city observed the city government and other concerned agencies became lenient in the enforcement of the anti-smoke belching ordinance that was taken advantage by unscrupulous vehicle owners which resulted in the fair air quality prevailing in the city’s central business district area.