Sept. 26 as Save Sierra Madre Day gets support

MANILA, Philippines –  As the nation recalls today the fury of tropical storm “Ondoy” last year, environmentalists have thrown their support behind a growing campaign to declare Sept. 26 of every year “Save Sierra Madre Day.”

The Alyansa Tigil Mina (ATM) and the EcoWaste Coalition have expressed their unity with the Save Sierra Madre Network (SSMN), the lead group pushing for Save Sierra Madre Day.

The ATM has over 80 members nationwide, while the EcoWaste Coalition has over 100 members.

Fr. Pete Montallana, one of the SSMN convenors, earlier announced their plan to mark the first anniversary of Ondoy as Save Sierra Madre Day to call attention to the urgency of protecting the 1.5-million hectare mountain range from widespread illegal logging and other “developmental intrusions.”

“Forested mountains are our best natural defenses against the twin scourges of ‘too much water’ on one hand, and ‘too little water’ on the other. Ondoy and the recent drought brought by El Niño could not have done their worst on the island of Luzon if its once-majestic protector, the Sierra Madre, has not been so degraded by unabated logging and other ‘developmental’ intrusions,” the Aurora-based Franciscan priest said.