Govt urged to restore Sierra Madre forest two years after Ondoy

The government should exert effort to restore the Sierra Madre forest to prevent severe flooding in portions of Metro Manila, residents affected by floods brought by Tropical Storm Ondoy two years ago said Monday. Parishioners from the diocese of Antipolo, Rizal—one of the areas hit by Ondoy—staged a protest in Marikina City to call on the Aquino government to support reforestation efforts at the Sierra Madre mountain range. Precille Monte, one of the protesters, said the government should restore the forest on the mountain range to make sure that there will be trees to absorb Metro Manila floodwaters. "Ang sa amin po, dapat pangalagaan ang kalikasan. Kasama po naming ang Simbahan… Gobyerno lang po ang makakatulong sa amin," she said in an interview over GMA News TV’s "News To Go" on Monday. She added that reforestation efforts at the Sierra Madre will make sure that Metro Manila will not experience Ondoy-like floods again in the future. More than 400 people were killed after Ondoy poured a record amount of rainfall over Metro Manila and nearby areas in Luzon. The flooding caused by Ondoy also affected 4.8 million people and left damage to property amounting to P11 billion. The Sierra Madre is the country’s longest mountain range, which runs through the northern province of Cagayan to the southern province of Quezon. It shields Luzon from an average of 26 storms from the Pacific Ocean every year. LGU support Marikina Mayor Del de Guzman, for his part, expressed support for efforts to restore the Sierra Madre forest, saying that his city will directly benefit from the reforestation. He particularly called on the government to extend help in building rainwater impounding mechanisms at the Marikina Watershed, which is a part of the mountain range. "Ang obserbasyon natin, kapag nagpunta tayo doon, wala nang mga puno. Puro bahay na," he said in a separate television interview. "Kung hindi man natin magawa na mataniman lahat iyon, nananawagan tayo sa national government na magkaroon na nga adaptation infrastructure doon," he added. — Andreo Calonzo/RSJ, GMA News