SAVE SIERRA MADRE NETWORK ALLIANCE INC.
Greetings!
The ghosts of typhoon Ondoy of September 26, 2009 visited us again last August 11. Sierra Madre is reminding us to celebrate the Save Sierra Madre Day “to boost awareness among the general public…towards the conservation of the Sierra Madre Mountains” (Proclamation 413).
In the SONA 2018 President Rodrigo Duterte exhorted that “concerned agencies and local government units…uphold the concept of intergenerational responsibility in the exploration and utilization of our mineral wealth, the protection and preservation of our biodiversity, anchored on the right to a balanced and healthy ecology.”
SSMNAI asks that you initiate or join initiatives to celebrate the Save Sierra Madre Day this coming September 26, 2018. Let this be an occasion to move people to a higher degree of awareness that “Buháy na Sierra Madre ay Búhay nating lahat”. We have to confront climate change now and can no longer allow a “business as usual” attitude. The government, the Churches, the media, and CSOs can light the spark that will move people to act.
Concretely we have to rethink our attitude that the Sierra Madre is not simply a pile of inanimate soil, stones, water, trees and worms. No. Sierra Madre is a living organism of soil, stones, water, trees and countless living organisms that God created to sustain our life as we in turn sustain Sierra Madre’s life.
May the Spirit of the Supreme Being save us from the “point of no return”. Let us do our part to promote what gives life and to oppose the greed that brings disaster to future generations.
Sincerely,
Fr. Pete Montallana – Chairperson – SSMNAI
