Bikers wish for safe, terrorism-free communities

From the Philippine News Agency (Jul 18, 2021): Bikers wish for safe, terrorism-free communities (By Hilda Austria)

ANTI-REDS. Members of the Pangasinan Police Provincial Office and the Army’s 702nd Infantry Defender Brigade lead participants of the 'Bike for Justice and Peace' in Lingayen on Saturday (July 17, 2021). The nationwide event condemned communist terrorist groups and called for justice for their victims. (Photo courtesy of Pangasinan PDRRMO)

Bikers groups in Pangasinan joined Saturday’s nationwide condemnation of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) and the call for justice for their victims.

The “Bike for Justice and Peace” also marked the 40th day since the death of Kieth and Nolven Absalon in Masbate City on June 6.

The cousins were biking with a group when roadside anti-personnel mines exploded, a crime later admitted by NPA rebels.

Autopsy reports also found gunshot wounds on the victims.

“Bikers are peace-loving people. We just want peace so that we could freely ride our bikes without fear of any crime and we are seeking justice for the killing of our fellow cycling enthusiasts, Kieth and Nolven Absalon,” Metro Dagupan Cycling Club Inc. public relations officer Roy Velasquez said in an interview on Saturday.

The bikers were from Dagupan City, Alaminos City, and the towns of Dasol, Basista, and Binmaley, among others.

The group pedaled 20 kilometers around the baywalk area here and up to Binmaley.

They also signed a manifesto condemning the terroristic acts of the CPP-NPA.

“We, together, as a nation, condemn the communist terrorist group CPP-NPA and the threats they pose to the Filipinos’ right to life, right to family, and right to have true and lasting peace,” the manifesto read.

The CPP-NPA is also listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, the United Kingdom, European Union, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Philippines.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1147446