Some 30 displaced workers of the Mactan Export Processing Zone (MEPZ) each received a free bike from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) 7 (Central Visayas) during its 87th founding anniversary celebration on Tuesday.

DOLE-7 Director Salome Siaton said the Free Bisekleta project, or FreeBis, is a new inclusion to the list of services of the DOLE Integrated Livelihood and Emergency Employment Program (DILEEP) in response to the needs of workers displaced during the pandemic.

The FreeBis, worth PHP20,000 each, comes with a complete set of accessories, such as a raincoat, helmet, and reflectorized vest.

To equip the beneficiaries with materials for their future delivery-related businesses, they will also be given android cellular phones with a load of PHP2,400 each.

“We were supposed to release these bikes in October in a simultaneous national launching of the Free Bisikleta project of the labor department. However, we encountered a few concerns since we lack suppliers. That’s why we were not able to pursue it as scheduled. But finally, we will get to entrust these bikes to the rightful recipients,” Siaton said.

To recall, the DOLE closely monitored the plight of the retrenched workers of the MEPZ.

One of the assistance it extended was its employment facilitation program, with the Public Employment Services Office (PESO) – Lapu-Lapu City and other social partners.

Affected workers were referred to companies in need of additional workforce, while others, who wanted to acquire new sets of skills, were given training.

The beneficiaries, Siaton said, were also trained on pastry making, in coordination with PESO-Lapu-Lapu City and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority.

The Free Biskeleta Project was also inspired by the DOLE’s national survey conducted 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. (PNA)