Sierra Madre protection bill clears House panel

MANILA, Philippines — A priority bill seeking to create the Sierra Madre Mountain Range Authority (SMMRA) has cleared the committee level in the House of Representatives, according to a House statement issued on Tuesday.

The bill consolidates several proposals, with House Bill (HB) No. 3538, which was authored by Speaker Faustino “Bojie” G. Dy III, serving as the mother bill.

It advances efforts to protect one of Luzon’s most important natural defenses against floods, typhoons, and other climate-related hazards.

Article continues after this advertisement

The House Committee on Government Enterprises and Privatization, chaired by Parañaque Rep. Eric Olivarez, approved the substitute bill.

FEATURED STORIES

NEWSINFO

NEWSINFO

NEWSINFO

READ: Threats posed by floods highlight need to protect Sierra Madre – Speaker Dy

Dy said the committee approval moves Congress closer to establishing a long-term and coordinated approach to protecting the Sierra Madre and the millions of Filipinos whose communities depend on it.

“When we protect the Sierra Madre, we also protect the lives and livelihoods of our countrymen,” he said.

Dy, a former Isabela governor, stressed that disaster resilience could not rely solely on infrastructure such as flood control systems, dams, and drainage networks.

Article continues after this advertisement

“We need to look at the whole system,” he said. “Flood control cannot begin only where the flooding happens. It must also begin in our forests and watersheds, where water is absorbed, stored, and released.”

“This is why protecting the Sierra Madre is not separate from flood control and disaster resilience. It is part of the same thrust to keep our communities safe,” he added.

Article continues after this advertisement

Olivarez also underscored the importance of protecting the Sierra Madre, which stretches across several provinces in Luzon, serving as a natural barrier against typhoons while supporting critical watersheds and ecosystems.

“If we want to address flooding downstream, we must also protect what stands upstream,” Olivarez said.

Under the substitute bill, the SMMRA would serve as the central policy, coordinating, and regulatory body for the integrated management of the Sierra Madre landscape.

Among its tasks are the following:

• protect the range against illegal logging
• protect the range against destructive land conversion and extensive mining
• strengthen watershed protection and ecological restoration
• develop policies on disaster resilience and sustainable development

Bukidnon Rep. Jose Manuel Alba, who chaired the technical working group that fine-tuned the measure, said the bill would also provide for a 25-year Sierra Madre conservation master plan covering flood and disaster resilience, climate adaptation, Indigenous peoples and community stewardship, biodiversity protection, and sustainable livelihoods.

READ: Stronger governance for Sierra Madre protected area pushed

“Protecting the Sierra Madre means protecting lives downstream,” Alba said.

The proposed SMMRA will address the fragmented management of the mountain range by providing an integrated, landscape-scale, and science-based framework that recognizes the interrelationship between environmental protection, disaster resilience, and the livelihoods of communities in the Sierra Madre.

Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.

Your subscription has been successful.

The protection and sustainable development of the Sierra Madre is among the priority measures under the common legislative agenda of the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC). /atm