Sierra Madre, the country’s longest mountain range, looms before the Pakil rally.
Sierra Madre, as sung by music artist Coritha in 1980, became a big hit in the Philippines, as it struck a chord in people’s hearts. It sings of the longing to go home to her cradle of childhood, with its mountains, meadows, and springs.
Many other songs were written about this longest mountain range in the Philippines, such as Sierra Madre by Buklod. It’s a reggae song from the album, Sa Kandungan ng Kalikasan, that calls for the preservation of the environment for the benefit of future generations. Dam by Gary Granada is a social commentary about government development projects that destroy the environment and displace indigenous communities.
Magkaugnay by Joey Ayala at ang Bagong Lumad is the first track from the album Mga Awit ng Tanod-Lupa, which illustrates the connectivity of all things in the ecosystem. And who doesn’t know Masdan Mo Ang Kapaligiran by Asin?
Troubadour Calle Manu singing ‘Sierra Madre’
Recently, a modern troubadour named Calle Manu wrote a song, Sierra Madre, which he sang at the Pakil indignation rally.
Sierra Madre spans over 540 km along the eastern coast of Luzon, from Cagayan in the north to the Bicol Peninsula in the south. It borders the Pacific Ocean to the east and the Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, and Calabarzon regions to the west.
Sierra Madre is home to approximately 40 percent of the country’s forest cover and harbors a vast array of plant and animal species
The mountain range acts as a natural barrier and plays a crucial role in protecting the regions from typhoons and floods. It is home to approximately 40 percent of the country’s forest cover and harbors a vast array of plant and animal species, many of which are endemic and endangered.
Alas, the range, known for its rich biodiversity and ancient forests, faces threats from deforestation, mining, and development operations affecting its ecosystem and its capability to effectively shield Luzon from the onslaughts of typhoons.
Pakil Church with Sierra Madre in the background. The first church was built in the 17th century.
One town in the Sierra Madre, where local people are deeply worried about the threat of considerable ecological damage on their community and the environment that could result from the planned building of a dam, is Pakil. Considered the pilgrimage capital of Laguna, Pakil is well known for Turumba Festival, in honor of the Lady of Sorrows of Turumba.
At the rally, Pakil parish priest Fr. Jerry Oblepias and Fr. John Lino Calumpiano, director of the Commission on Ecology of the Diocese of San Pablo
Nuns and men of the cloth in the Pakil rally
Last July 5, 2025, farmers, fishermen, and residents of Pakil led by the MaNaPak (Mamamayang Nagmamahal sa Pakil) were joined by civil society groups, environmental and youth advocates, priests and nuns, church members, and concerned people from neighboring communities and other places, in an indignation rally and march demanding an immediate halt to the construction of Ahunan Dam.
The dam is a proposed 1,400-megawatt pumped-storage hydropower facility which, according to the website of the project proponent, Ahunan Power, Inc., “is expected to be among the largest pumped storage hydroelectric power plants in Asia.”
With a project investment of USD 5.03 billion, the proponent claims that “the Pakil project’s capacity and reliability make Ahunan Power a crucial player in the Philippines’ efforts to transition to a clean energy future.”
Ahunan Power, Inc. was established as a joint venture between two co-developers, Prime Metro Power Holdings Corporation and JBD Water Power, Inc., on September 17, 2020.
According to the proponent, “The project integrates variable renewable energy to provide mid-merit energy during peak periods and address ancillary services requirements of the national system grid. Its total annual generation capacity is estimated to supply over 2.3 million households and displace approximately 3.1 million tons of coal per year. It is expected to commence operations by 2030.”
However, the MaNaPak group in its petition to stop the dam, claims that “the proposed dam construction, based on local assessments and available information, poses a very real and serious threat to the balance of our ecosystem.”
It claims that the dam is an alleged hazard to the community, as it will sit on top of the Ping-as Mountain, highly susceptible to earthquakes or rain-induced landslides. The location of the project, the group contends, is said to be just 17 km from a fault somewhere in Real, Quezon. It claims that soil sealing about 100 ha of a man-made reservoir as part of a 300- to 400-ha project will allegedly aggravate the flooding of the communities of Laguna Lake.
MaNaPak point person Teresa Sanchez
A native of Pakil whose family is rooted in Sierra Madre, Teresa “Tessie” Saldaña Sanchez, talks about the report of an engineer on the abundance of aquifers in Pakil. Aquifers collect water when rain seeps into the soil and hold it for days or even thousands or millions of years until it is extracted by the upwelling of the spring or through the infiltration of rivers and streams.
According to US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), “Overpumping aquifers can lead to several harmful effects. These include: 1) Land subsidence: When water is removed from the soil, the ground can collapse, sink, or settle. This can damage buildings and infrastructure.”
The proposed project site of the Ahunan Dam is allegedly underlain with extensive and highly productive aquifers feeding springs which are the sources of drinking water and household needs of residents. The Upper Basin and other structures, the protesters claim, could block aquifer recharge that could result in reduced spring water, or even extinction.
Tessie owns a water refilling station with natural spring water coming from the small reservoir her grandfather built 200 years ago. The reservoir is connected underground to an aquifer from the mountain. The station, named after her mother Marciana who lived beyond 100, has been supplying natural spring water for free to her neighbors and to the public swimming pools beside the reservoir. The free-flowing spring water in the pools is said to have curative powers. She’s a most passionate advocate of “Save Pakil! Save Sierra Madre! No to Ahunan Dam!”
Lina Naldo of MaNaPak
Lina Naldo, another native of Pakil, bared her bleeding heart in the indignation rally over the cutting by the Ahunan Project, Inc. of their 100-year-old langka (jackfruit) tree. Her father didn’t want it touched, as it was planted on a slope which prevents soil erosion. The tree was cut without permission, she said, even as their family has not agreed to sell their land.
“In the lot I inherited from my father, which is 1,014 sqm,” says Tessie, “I planted lanzones, rambutan, and a hardwood antipolo tree. It takes 25 years before the native lanzones tree bears fruit. When I entered my property, the big trees were already numbered.”
She claims that the dam proponent entered her property without permission, adding, “Many trees of other Paquileños have been numbered, too, as part of the process to ready the place.”
As of 2024, Pakil fruit trees numbered 1,470 lanzones trees, 6,900 rambutan, 6,850 calamansi, 2,075 dalanghita…. As for rice produced, the area planted was 280.85 ha by 425 farmers
As of 2024, Pakil fruit trees numbered 1,470 lanzones trees, 6,900 rambutan, 6,850 calamansi, 2,075 dalanghita, 970 mangoes, 2,200 bananas, 305 durian, 950 santol, 800 papaya, and 210 guyabano. As for rice produced during the dry season (2023-2024), the area planted was 280.85 ha by 425 farmers, with a total yield of 1,618.77 metric tons.
Application for Land Use Conversion from agricultural to industrial was reportedly filed by Ahunan Power Inc., represented by Noel B. Gonzales, for an aggregate area of 469.0621908 ha, located in Brgy. Burgos, Rizal, Pakil, Laguna.
The farmers, fishermen, landowners, and farm workers of Pakil protested. They claim that, considering 55 percent of citizens of Pakil are farmers and another 22 percent are fishermen, any disturbance in the environment will contribute to the destruction of the entire ecosystem and greatly affect the poor people.
According to the MaNaPak, aside from the upper reservoir soil-sealing the catchment area, the power houses of the proposed dam will be positioned in tangent to the Turumba Spring. This spring attracts thousands of devotees from Batangas, Quezon, and Rizal, with pilgrims coming to bathe two to seven times a year. They believe the spring water can cure their body and soul. The 350-year sacred festivity is known as Ahunan sa Ping-as.
“Ahunan is very holy for Pakil people, very symbolic,” according to Tessie. She says that they go to the top of the mountain, Mt. Ping-as, to “Ahunan,” which means “Aahon ka sa bundok.” Every last Saturday of May, Pakil people trek up the mountain, children borne on their shoulders, with the priest already waiting for them.
Mass at the Saint Peter of Alcantara Parish of Pakil
“People and animals, together with the trees and the plants and nature, are gathered to hear Mass. Mt. Ping-as is a sacred ground. People should be good steward of the ‘Ahunan sa Ping-as,’” concludes the MaNaPak point person.
Indeed, Pakil has a very rich tradition and culture rooted in religious history, going back to the first church under the patronage of Saint Peter of Alcantara built in 1676.
Pakil has the Turumba Festival, which started in 1788, when an icon of the Lady of Sorrows of Turumba or the Virgin Mary of Turumba was found floating by fishermen and brought to the shore near the church of Pakil. A group of women found the icon but could not move it, so they called the parish priest, who, with the sacristans, choristers, and churchgoers at Mass, were able to lift the icon. The townsfolk began to sing and dance, which gave birth to the Turumba Festival.
Pakil also has the tradition of Descendimiento del Señor Santo Cristo del Misericordia. It’s a blessed rite on Good Friday when the Santo Cristo is taken down from the cross, where it stays the whole year except during Good Friday. The rite is observed by a priest praying the incantation before the crucified Christ is brought down, and after wiping the hands, arms, legs, and feet of the image with a wet towel and balsamo (perfume), the Santo Cristo is clothed in white vestment and placed on an antique calandra/carroza for the Santo Entierro procession.
Meanwhile, a Notice to the Public was posted recently by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) in Sta. Cruz, Laguna, saying that 3,772 trees are to be cut in two barangays in Pakil.
An “Urgent Open Letter” to the DENR and Department of Energy, and to the new DENR Secretary, Raphael “Popo” Lotilla, was posted on Facebook by Aba Lluch Dalena of MaNaPak to “STOP the Cutting of Trees in Pakil, Laguna NOW” and “STOP Ahunan Power Operations in Pakil Now!
The threat looming not only over Pakil but also over the Sierra Madre is real, believes the MaNaPak which says that they are “profoundly worried about the considerable ecological damage it is likely to inflict upon our community and the environment.”
Every Sept. 26, Sierra Madre Day is observed, as declared by the late President Benigno Aquino III (PNoy) under Presidential Proclamation No. 413 in 2012. That’s how valuable this mountain range is to our people, and how important it is to save and protect Sierra Madre.
Can we hear the echo of Mahatma Gandhi’s exhortation that “Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s need, but not every man’s greed,” when we hear the call of the mountains, meadows and springs of Sierra Madre?
