Calls grow for stronger safeguards across Sierra Madre communities in Quezon

By Nimfa L. Estrellado-Laurino Rev. Fr. Efren C. Diaz addresses clergy, youth and community groups during Sierra Madre Day activities in...

By Nimfa L. Estrellado-Laurino

Rev. Fr. Efren C. Diaz addresses clergy, youth and community groups during Sierra Madre Day activities in Infanta, Quezon, as participants press for stronger protection of the Agos River, forests and ancestral lands. (Social Action Center Prelature of Infanta)

INFANTA, Quezon — Church-led calls for independent review, Indigenous consent and stronger safeguards for communities facing large projects are gaining force as Catholic and Indigenous groups renew their campaign to protect Quezon’s Sierra Madre forests, rivers and ancestral lands. Mounting concern over quarrying, the Kaliwa Dam and wind-energy developments has pushed environmental scrutiny, public safety and community rights deeper into the debate over how major projects should proceed across the mountain range.

The Prelature of Infanta marked recent Sierra Madre Day renewing its call to protect the mountain range from projects it says could damage the environment, threaten livelihoods and put Indigenous communities at risk. Priests, Dumagat representatives, students, youth groups and community organizations joined prayers, Indigenous rituals and environmental activities focused on the Agos River and surrounding Sierra Madre communities. 

Leading the campaign is the Social Action Center of the Prelature of Infanta together with key members of the Bikaryato ng RIN-Llavac, covering Real, Infanta, General Nakar and Llavac, alongside Christian communities and Dumagat representatives. The coalition has opposed projects it says threaten natural resources, lives and livelihoods while weakening the rights of communities expected to carry their environmental and social consequences.

Social Action Director Rev. Fr. Efren C. Diaz placed the Agos River at the center of the gathering, saying Sierra Madre Day should confront activities considered destructive rather than remain only a symbolic celebration of nature. His remarks connected the river dispute with a wider demand for government leaders to respond to communities raising concerns over forests, waterways and public safety. 

“Sa pagdiriwang natin ito, hindi lamang tayo nagpapakita ng ating pagmamahal sa kalikasan kundi kasama ang ating pagkundina sa lahat ng mga mapanirang proyekto at mga aktibidades na ginagawa sa loob ng Sierra Madre kasama ang Agos River. Nawa sa ating panawagan na ito, mapakinggan ng ating mga pinuno ng bayan ang nagkakaisang tinig ng mamamayan upang labanan ang lahat ng mapanirang quarrying at makasariling paghukay sa mga ilog,” Diaz said. 

Diaz also sought to turn the September 26 observance into the beginning of sustained cooperation among churches, schools, communities and civic groups rather than allow the campaign to end with a single gathering. The appeal called for residents to keep speaking when projects or activities are seen as threatening rivers, forests and communities whose lives and livelihoods remain tied to the Sierra Madre. 

“Kaya sa araw na ito, sana hindi ito ang katapusan ng ating pagpapakita ng pagtindig, kundi ito ay simula ng pagkakaisa mula sa iba’t ibang sektor, mula sa iba’t ibang relihiyon, mula sa iba’t ibang mga pamayanan at mga parokya. Huwag po tayong matakot tumindig, huwag po tayong matakot magsalita at huwag po tayong matakot magbigay ng reaksyon kung kailangan nating ipakita na hindi tayo payag sa anumang mga proyektong nakakasira, lalo na sa mga ilog at kagubatan,” Diaz said. 

Behind the gathering lies a larger conflict over how infrastructure, energy development and resource extraction can proceed without weakening environmental protection, public safety and Indigenous rights in Quezon’s Sierra Madre communities. The mountain range’s rivers, forests and ancestral domains increasingly sit where development ambitions meet demands for clearer evidence that projects will not leave residents carrying the long-term costs.

The Social Action Center’s Sierra Madre Day position drew a sharp distinction between development that improves people’s lives and projects that transfer environmental and social burdens to affected communities. Damage to forests, rivers and ancestral territories, the group argued, cannot be separated from threats to livelihoods, human safety and the rights of Indigenous peoples dependent on those natural systems.

“Hindi maaaring tawaging kaunlaran ang isang proyekto kung kapalit nito ay pagkasira ng kalikasan, pagkawala ng kabuhayan, banta at panganib sa buhay at pagkitil sa karapatan ng mga pamayanang katutubo. Ang Sierra Madre, mga ilog, kagubatan, kabundukan at lupang ninuno ay hindi lamang pinagkukunan ng materyales o lugar na maaaring paglagyan ng anumang proyekto,” Diaz said.

Dumagat communities occupy a central place in the Church’s position because ancestral lands, cultural sites and traditional livelihoods stand to be affected when major developments enter areas they have occupied and cared for across generations. The Social Action Center said meaningful consultation must give Indigenous communities a genuine role in decisions capable of reshaping their territories, culture, livelihoods and relationship with the Sierra Madre.

“Partikular naming ipinaglalaban ang karapatan at kapakanan ng ating mga kapatid na Katutubong Dumagat na matagal nang namumuhay at nag-aalaga sa kanilang mga lupang ninuno. Hindi dapat sila ituring na sagabal sa pag-unlad dahil sila ay mga tagapag-alaga ng kalikasan at may karapatang marinig, igalang at makilahok sa anumang desisyong may direktang epekto sa kanilang buhay, kultura, kabuhayan at lupang ninuno,” Diaz said.

The Church group also called for scientific and independent assessments of uncontrolled quarrying, windmill projects, Kaliwa Dam and other developments that may affect rivers, forests, biodiversity, livelihoods and community safety. Its demands include transparent government review, meaningful public consultation and respect for Free, Prior and Informed Consent where proposed projects directly involve Indigenous ancestral domains.

Those demands do not establish that every project cited has violated environmental laws or regulatory requirements, but they intensify scrutiny of how permits, environmental safeguards and consultations are being handled. The controversy now reaches beyond opposition to individual developments and into whether existing review systems can identify serious risks before communities and ecosystems are left with damage that is difficult to reverse.

What began as a Sierra Madre Day gathering in Infanta has widened into a debate with implications for communities across Quezon’s Sierra Madre corridor, where forests, rivers, ancestral lands and major projects increasingly occupy the same contested landscape. The larger question is whether infrastructure, extraction and energy development can move forward without shifting their environmental and social costs onto communities that may live with the consequences for generations.