'Walk, Baguio, walk' program launched vs oil price hikes

MANILA, Philippines - Baguio City officials have initiated a campaign to save gas and ae now encouraging people to just walk. According to a GMA News report on 24 Oras, the move came as the country reels from the continuing rise in the prices of oil products. Called "Walk, Baguio, Walk," the program aims to ban government vehicles from all city roads every Friday and encourage government employees to just walk. Only public vehicles would be allowed on the streets. If the plan succeeds, the report authored by Ivan Mayrina said, the city council plans to forge an ordinance that would encompass even the private sector. Baguio residents interviewed in the report said that they would welcome such measure as they noted that gas prices continue to rise. "We are fond of walking, that's why talagang kailangan bawasa natin (ang paggamit ng mga sasakyan) coupled by the fact that we are experiencing already the continuing increase in gasoline prices," Baguio City vice mayor Danny Farinas said. He added that a third reason for the measure is that it would lessen pollution. A long-time Baguio resident, 82-year-old Elizabeth Madetyem, said that she knew of people who lived up to a hundred years old and that it was the norm in her generation as they always walked. The life expectancy in the region, according to the Department of Health, is 64.5 years for women while life expectancy for men is pegged at 69.9 years. This, according to DOH-Cordillera regional director Myrna Cabotaje, was because of the changing lifestyle. "They've become more sedentary, less movement, less exercise and pati yung pagkain nila, not the usual fruits and vegetables,"she said. - GMANews.TV