SIERRA MADRE, the longest mountain range in the country, is found in the eastern section of Luzon. The backbone of the country’s main island, it is shared by the provinces of Laguna, Rizal and Quezon in the south; Aurora, Nueva Ecija and Bulacan in Central Luzon; and Isabela, Nueva Viscaya, Quirino and Cagayan in the north.

These mountains provide people with the bounty of its foods, feeds, water, fodder, fuel, biodiversity and other environmental amenities.

These areas are blessed with the rich biodiversity in the Northern Sierra Madre Natural Park in Isabela and the Mountains San Cristobal and Banahaw protected landscape in the south, including the caves of Biak na Bato in Bulacan.

Its watershed supplies water to big dams such as those in Magat, Casecnan, Pantabangan, Angat, La Mesa and Caliraya-Botocan, which provide water and power in Luzon.

These areas also served as the watershed of Pasig River, Laguna de Bay (one of the largest freshwater lakes in the world), the central plain of Luzon and the southern part of Cagayan Valley.

Place in history

Sierra Madre is also accorded a place in history with Gregorio del Pilar’s last stand in Tirad Pass and the capture of Aguinaldo in Palanan and of Hermano Pule in Banahaw. Even the New People’s Army takes refuge in the whole stretch of the mountain range.

However, it is sad to say that despite the economic, political and environmental importance of Sierra Madre, the government and the people pay it little respect, and fail to return the favor that the blessings of its richness provide.

Virgilio T. Villancio, a former manager of Land Grant Management Office, UP Los Baños College, Laguna