The Urban Side

Ortigas & Co. and Firefly Brigade Launch


“I Vote to Bike: 12th Tour of the Fireflies”


Ortigas & Co. and Firefly Brigade today launched the 12th Tour of the Fireflies. This year’s theme is “I Vote to Bike.” The Tour of the Fireflies is an annual critical mass ride that promotes the bicycle as an alternative and environmentally sensible means of transportation that will help make our cities firefly-friendly once again.


The 12th Tour of the Fireflies is scheduled on Sunday, April 18, 2010. For the 5th time this year Tiendesitas at Frontera Verde will be the starting and end point of the Tour, which gathers up to 8,000 bikers from all over Metro Manila.

During the launch, Ortigas & Co. had a ceremonial turn-over of bike racks to the Firefly Brigade, as a symbol of the company’s commitment to provide bike racks in all of its commercial developments to promote non-motorized transportation.

Firefly Brigade President Ricky Pineda said the group thought of the theme “I Vote to Bike” as a way of reminding Filipinos of their right to sustainable transportation.

“Filipinos must be reminded to practice and advocate for non-motorized transportation because it is a form of being makabayan. It means less dependency on fuel which translates to dollar savings for the government,” Pineda explained.

The Firefly Brigade is a citizen's volunteer action group formed in 1999 to work for clean air and a habitable, people-friendly environment in our cities.

For his part, Ortigas & Co. Deputy COO & Real Estate Division General Manager Joey Santos said their long-term partnership with the Firefly Brigade highlights the company’s commitment to build environmentally sound property developments.

“We are committed to building communities that promote healthy living and environmentally sound practices,” Santos explained.

The Tour will pass through Pasig, Quezon City, Marikina, Cainta, Taguig, Makati and Mandaluyong. Synchronized bicycle rides in Baguio, Bacolod, Cagayan de Oro, General Santos City,Leyte, Laoag and Palawan will also kick-off on April 18.

In line with its advocacy campaign the Firefly Brigade is also launching R.A.C.K., (Raising Awareness, Capacities and Knowledge-sharing for popularizing bicycle use in Metro Manila), a project supported by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Through this project the group seeks to donate at least fifteen bicycle racks to public offices and spaces by December 2010.