Rizal 4th District Rep. Fidel Nograles renewed his call for the immediate passage of House Bill No. 1972 seeking to create the Sierra Madre Development Authority (SMDA) to preserve and protect the mountain range.

Nograles, who is the author of the bill, made the call on Monday, Sept. 26 in the wake of Super Typhoon Karding that hit Luzon over the weekend and coincidentally the day that the country commemorates “Save Sierra Madre Day“.

“Amid the threat of Karding, Sierra Madre has once again shown just how crucial it is in protecting us against extreme weather events. The Sierra Madre Development Authority (SMDA) will help us preserve this shield in the face of a worsening climate crisis,” he said in a statement shared on Facebook.

With the creation of SMDA, he said it would be at the forefront of the government's anti-illegal logging and restoration campaign, and it would prevent the construction of unwarranted and illegal infrastructure.

“The government body is also mandated to conduct a comprehensive survey of the Sierra Madre region's physical and natural resources and draft a comprehensive plan to conserve and utilize them to promote the region’s social and economic development,“ he said.

“It will also plan, program, finance, and undertake infrastructure projects such as river, flood, and tidal control work, wastewater and sewerage work, dams and water supply, roads, irrigation, housing, and related work; and assess and approve all plans, programs, and projects proposed by local government offices/agencies within the region related to the development of the mountain range,“ Nograles added.

The mountains of Sierra Madre have a significant role in the major water supply demands of Metro Manila, the provinces of Cagayan, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya, Nueva Ecija, Quirino, Aurora, Quezon, Rizal, Laguna, and Bulacan.