The Beauty Of Sierra Madre Cagayan Valley 1

sierra madre LONGEST MOUNTAIN RANGE IN THE PHILIPPINES

Her strength, beauty, and protection is slowly deteriorating.

It is said to conceal many secrets, among them a myth on how these mountain ranges came to be.

The Beauty of Sierra Madre & Cagayan Valley A B E S A M I S ,

A L B O R E S ,

D E

C A S T R O ,

N A K A Z A W A

contents 01 02 05 08 10 11 12 13 15 16 18

The Magnificent Sierra Madre The Myth of Sierra Madre The People of Sierra Madre The Wonders of Cagayan The People of Cagayan Valley Woven Basket The Legend of Cagayan The Wrath of Nature Sierra Madre's Last Stand Cagayan's Crisis Opposition of Kaliwa Dam Project

THE MAGNIFICENT

SIERRA MADRE The Sierra Madre is more than just the largest rainforest in the Philippines. Sierra Madre also mean 'mother mountain range" in Spanish.

The Sierra Madre is the longest mountain range in the Philippines. Spanning for over 540 kilometers (340 mi), it runs from the province of Cagayan down to the province of Quezon, forming a north– south direction on the eastern portion of Luzon, the largest island of the archipelago. It is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the east, Cagayan Valley to the northwest, Central Luzon to the midwest, and Calabarzon to the southwest.

The Pacific coast of Luzon along the Sierra Madre is less developed as the lofty and continuous mountains form a bold and almost inaccessible shore, exposed to the full force of the northeast monsoon and the waves of the Pacific Ocean. Some of communities east of the mountain range and along

the coast are so remote they are only accessible by plane or boat.

The country's largest protected area, the Northern Sierra Madre Natural Park, is situated at the northern part of the range in the province of Isabela. The park is in the UNESCO tentative list for World Heritage List inscription.

Environmentalists, scholars, and scientists have been urging the government to include the other parks within the Sierra Madre mountains for a UNESCO site that would encompass the entire Sierra Madre mountain range from Cagayan to Quezon province.

The mountain range serves as a typhoon barrier, attenuating incoming typhoons from the Pacific Ocean before reaching the central mainland.

01

THE MYTH OF SIERRA MADRE

An Eternal Promise

Spanning the length from Cagayan in the north to Quezon in Southern Luzon is the undulating Sierra Madre mountain ranges.

This

more

than

200

miles

of

contiguous mountains touching each other and even reaching out to the Cordilleras is said to conceal many secrets, among them a myth on how these mountain ranges came to be.

Sierra was a dedicated mother of two kids, named Iloco and Tagalo. The myth says they lived near a lengthy coastline where Bugsong Hangin, king of the mighty easterly winds, often chose to set foot on the ground and roam around the vicinity.

Bugsong Hangin often brought with him the whole mighty horde of his wind army to wreak havoc on the land where Sierra and her kids lived.

Bugsong Hangin, according to the myth,

had

vowed

to

regularly

demolish the place.

02

Bugsong Hangin used to court Sierra in their younger years, but Sierra was in love with Lusong, a valiant warrior who had always faced up to any intruder coming from the sea.

TO FIGHT

TO PROTECT Bugsong Hangin and his cohorts had proven too much for Lusong’s capabilities and he, later on, succumbed to Bugsong Hangin’s fierce attacks. Lusong died while Sierra and their sons watched. The myth says, however, before Lusong had breathed his last, he had Sierra promise that she’d love and protect their two sons.

03

s

o one day, the myth said that Sierra decided to lay on her side, putting herself between her two sons, Iloco and Tagalo, and the sea.

Her back faced the sea while her face was toward her sons as they did their daily activities.

Each time Bugsong Hangin came, the myth says, the two sons ran towards their mother to seek refuge under her arms while her back took all the punishment of Bugsong Hangin and his brutish army.

The myth says the mother’s protective arms and love proved invulnerable to any of Bugsong Hangin’s fierce attacks.

The surroundings were devastated, but Iloco and Tagalo were always kept secure as Bugsong Hangin’s army wasted away everything else. So from that time on until now, the myth says, Bugsong Hangin went far away for a while to muster enough strength and think of new attack strategies and later went back to try to topple Sierra’s defenses and destroy Iloco and Tagalo.

A mother’s love, like Mother Sierra’s, is kept almost eternal, as this myth shows. A mother will do anything for her children. Protect them even if it costs her life.

04

THE PEOPLE OF SIERRA MADRE

The Last of the HunterGatherers

Photograph by James Maeritz

This mountain chain, Sierra Madre, has been the home of the last surviving hunter-gatherer groups called the Agta.

They are commonly referred to as the Negritos, since the Agta belong to the Negrito ethnolinguistic group. The Agtas are scattered extensively and settled in the areas of Aurora, Cagayan, Isabela, Quezon,

and

Quirino.

They

are

estimated to have lived in the islands for at least thirty-five thousand years and have subsequently relied on both the forest and the sea for survival.

The Agta people are characteristically small in stature, dark-skinned, and have kinky hair. Their traditional clothing includes the tapis (skirt) for women and the bahag (breechcloth) for men but has now been replaced by modern clothing.

For generations, they have depended on the rainforest of the Sierra Madre for food, in addition to hunting larger animals such as wild pigs, monkeys, and deer using bows and arrows. Those living near the rivers or shorelines engage in fishing for sustenance, as they can easily gather fish even with their bare hands.

05

The Last of the HunterGatherers Agta women face a number of difficulties as they enter the last years of the twentieth century. Like men in this former hunting-gathering society, they must adjust to an onslaught of social, economic, and environmental transforming

changes

now

northeastern

Luzon

from remote virgin tropical forest to a multiethnic industrial and agricultural corner of a nation-state.

As women, they are experiencing special difficulties: their quality of life, social

status,

deteriorating;

and

the

health

death

of

are their

children is an ever-present threat, and their very subsistence is undercut by forces beyond their society's control.

Agta is diversifying their foraging base

and

exploiting

new

opportunities, but they are becoming a powerless and scorned cultural minority, without access to power or law. They find themselves a deprived people, exploited by all. Agta differs in their subsistence, settlement, and

In some places, they are semi-settled and trade meat, fish,

social

the

and labor for plant foods; in other areas, they are mobile

provinces of Cagayan, Isabela, and

hunter-gatherers, and in others, fishermen or landless

Quirino.

agricultural laborers.

systems

throughout

06

Agta share a common language, culture, and ecological adaptation based on exploitation of tropical forest and fresh water, and a long history of interaction with an agricultural peasantry.

Variations

occur

as

local

opportunities differ, particularly as interaction between Agta and lowlander agriculturalists intensifies.

AGTA WOMEN Women are especially noted for their skills in spearfishing, working in rough, deep waters as well as in shallow streams. Both men and women gather food, although the former favor honey collection, seldom joining women in securing mollusks from rivers or the ocean.

Women tend to dominate the procurement of plant foods, except fruits. In recent years, however, Agta have neglected forest plant foods, preferring instead domesticated cereal

7 0grains and roots.

07

cagayan valley

"THE LAND OF SMILING BEAUTY"

THE WONDERS OF CAGAYAN CAGAYAN VALLEY It is designated as Region II, is an administrative region in the Philippines, located in the northeastern section of Luzon Island. It is composed of five Philippine provinces: Batanes, Cagayan, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya, and Quirino.

08

Also known as the “backbone of Luzon,” Sierra Madre is the longest mountain range in the Philippines. It covers the northeast coast of Luzon island, serving as natural shield against typhoons coming from the Pacific Ocean.

The range also comprises numerous watersheds that serves the adjacent agricultural lands in Central Luzon and Cagayan Valley. Furthermore, it supports major infrastructure, including irrigation dams, water utility and power plants, that are serving urban settlements, including Metro Manila.

Given its vastness, the range is an important biological site due to its high floral and faunal diversity, in which many of the species are unique to the Philippines.

Northern Sierra Madre is drained by 14 major river systems, 11 of which empty into the Philippine Sea and 3 flow into the Rio Grande de Cagayan as tributaries of the Ilagan River. Palanan River, with a drainage area of 63,571 hectares (157,090 acres) or 29% of the park’s total area, is the most extensive, followed by Abuan River and Catalangan River.

Cagayan, called the "Land of Smiling Beauty", is a province of the Philippines in the Cagayan Valley region in Luzon. Thus, “Catagayan” which means a place where the tagay grows abundantly was shortened to “Cagayan,” the present name of the province.

It has emerged as the country's grains granary.

And of all the provinces in the region's finest eating quality rice —dubbed as “Vizcaya Rice”.

RIO IBANAG

09

ITAWES ITAWES THE PEOPLE OF CAGAYAN VALLEY

ITAWES/HITAWIT Their name is derived from the Itawes prefix meaning "people of" and tawid or "across the river".

The Itawes are among the earliest inhabitants of the Cagayan Valley in northern Luzon. Farming is a leading source of livelihood. The average families are educationconscious.

MOTHER TONGUE They speak Ibanag and Ilocano.

They are not very different from other lowland Christianized Filipino ethnic groups in terms of livelihood, housing, and traditions.

Their traditional dresses are colorful with red being the dominant color.

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WOVEN BASKET WOVEN BASKET WOVEN BASKET

T

he

Itawits

are

almost

They are also excellent blacksmiths and

indistinguishable from the Ibanags.

continue to make good belos. the other

They build their houses with sepa-

cultures are The Cabarrus jar burial site,

rate kitchens, connected by a narrow

also in the town, which features ancient

walkway that is used as a washing area for

Filipino traditions of taking care of their

hands and feet. The Itawits are noted for

dead.

their pottery and basket-weaving traditions.

The Cagayan Museum is a repository of The culture of Cagayan is showcased in

the province´s cultural heritage. Iron Age

museums,

and

pottery, Chinese Ming and Sung dynasty

the

porcelain pieces, as well as Church

Neolithic

paraphernalia, are on display together with

historical

archeological province.

In

sites

buildings,

spread

Solana,

across

the

archeological sites in Lana

have yielded

Paleolithic fossils

stone tools used as early as 20,000 years back

The oldest bell in the country, cast in 1592, still peals from the tower of the church in

The Ibanags, Itawits, and Malawegs are

Camalaniugan. The old brickworks in

mainly lowland farmers whose agricultural

Tuguegarao lie inside the city and speak

practices are similar to those of the

of a time when bricks were extensively

Ilokanos. The Ibanags used to inhabit the

used to build the beautiful churches of the

area along the Cagayan coast but migrated

Cagayan Valley.

further inland.

11

CLAVERIA

THE CAGAYAN MYTH

The Legend of Apolakay-Lakay By: Ferdz Decena

One day, the father coming home from an abundant catch came across an old man. The old man asked if he could spare a bite from one of the fishes he would cook as he was starving. The father laughed off his request. The old man said “You’ll regret it if you will not!” but he continued on.

That evening while the couple was cooking, an old lady came knocking at their door and pleaded for a bite of fish they were cooking.

The wife yelled at her exclaiming they have nothing to give her. She gave a warning that they would regret it if they won’t give her even a bit. She went away emptyhanded.

By dinner time, they found out their son was missing. They searched out of the house and asked their neighbors for help. It was during sunrise when they found their son across the waves in the east. They ran despite the tiring night long search but was heartbroken to find their beloved son turned to stone.

The couple went back to their home weeping. Slowly they both turned into stones. On this day the Two towering rock formations at Taggart Lagoon are known as Apo Lakay-lakay (Old Man) andApo Baket-baket (Old Woman). Their son Ubing-ubing (Child).

To make up for their mistakes, the mountain and the rocks there has been protecting their village from storms and always have abundant catch. But whenever boats pass by these rock formations, they would give offerings to the sea or else their boats would be wrecked by the rocks and the waves.

12

THE WRATH OF NATURE what happened to the magnificent sierra madre?

Magat Dam is a large rockfill dam in the island of Luzon in the Philippines.

The dam is on the Magat River, a major tributary of Cagayan River.

Construction of the dam started in 1975 and was completed in 1982.

Magat Dam is one of the largest dams in the Philippines. It is a multi-purpose dam which is used primarily for irrigating about 85,000 hectares (210,000 acres) of agricultural lands, flood control, and power generation through the Magat Hydroelectric Power Plant.

Filipinos were shocked as residents of parts of Cagayan and Isabela saw their homes submerged underwater as Magat Dam released water due to the recent Typhoon Ulysses.

The flooding, which local government officials consider to be the worst they had experienced in four decades, left many with no choice but to run to their roofs as they waited to be rescued.

In his presentation before the House Special Committee on North Luzon Growth Quadrangle on Monday, Office of Civil Defense-Region 2 Acting Director Harold Cabreros said that the flooding brought by Typhoon Ulysses affected 21 municipalities and one city in Cagayan; and 22 municipalities and three cities in Isabela.

Cabreros added that flooding due to Typhoon Ulysses was also reported in 15 municipalities in Nueva Vizcaya and five municipalities in Quirino.

Further, the OCD official said that more than 151,600 families— composed of 583,493 individuals —were also affected by Typhoon Ulysses in the Cagayan Valley region, leaving more than 2,200 families in evacuation centers.

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SIERRA MADRE'S LAST STAND The majestic and strong Sierra Madre, one of the prides of the Philippines.

her strength, beauty, and protection is slowly deteriorating One of the reasons for the more destructive effects of typhoons is the denudation of the Sierra Madre, the longest mountain range in the country, which spans from the province of Cagayan down to the province of Quezon.

It is a 540-kilometer mountain range that borders the northeastern side of Luzon, hosts 14 protected areas, covers 1.4 million hectares, and protects millions of Filipinos, historically serving as the country’s buffer and strongest defense from typhoons coming in from the Pacific Ocean, weakening them before they make landfall in mainland Luzon.

Cagayan Valley, for instance, has been protected from the harshest effects of typhoons because of the mountain range.

Unfortunately, decades of deforestation, mining, and improper land use, in addition to the passage of forest laws that fail to sufficiently protect forests and those who live therein, have led to the Sierra Madre’s weakened capability to buffer mainland Luzon from incoming typhoons.

Illegal logging has led to soil erosion and increased flooding in the low-lying areas that neighbor the mountain range.

Accountancy.

The construction of dams has also been at issue and has served as a contributing factor to the worsened effects of typhoons in the country.

15

Crisis

Cagayan's

FLOOD FROM TYPHOON ULYSSES In Cagayan Valley, in northeastern Luzon, at least 10 died due to landslide, drowning, and electrocution, houses, and agricultural lands were swamped in flood,

Families including elderly and children still were stranded on the roof of their houses, bridges and roads remain impassable after Typhoon Vamco hit last Wednesday, November 11, 2020

Cagayan Province is now declared under a state of calamity. Deep floods caused by rainfall submerged the area, affecting a total of 336 barangays with 294,987 individuals. Only about half of them were evacuated, based on the report of the Cagayan Provincial Information Office.

The flooding worsened when Magat Dam opened its seven gates to release water after it reached its spilling level, directly affecting several municipalities in the province.

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Massive flooding hits Cagayan Valley, Philippines, CARE and partners ready to respond Based on CARE Philippines interview last Saturday, November 14 with Cagayan Provincial Office Public Information Officer, Francis Joseph Reyes, “continuous recession of flood waters in Amulung and Gattaran areas are experienced, while Tuguegarao City is the top priority for rescue operations as it remains to be a critical situation.”

While pre-emptive evacuations were implemented before floodwaters started to rise with around 1,431 families housed in evacuation centers, and 3,965 families sought shelter in their relatives, a lot of families still opted to stay as they were not informed of the severity of the flooding.

151,159 individuals have been staying at evacuation centers across Cagayan Valley.

More than the rescue efforts, provision of humanitarian assistance is needed in the next few weeks. “The flooding in Cagayan Province is a direct impact of the series of typhoons that affected the Philippines in the past two weeks. It is critical to provide the affected families not only food, but also the resources they would need to recover – shelter repair kits, water purification tablets, sanitation and hygiene materials. Needs of women and children should be provided as well – this can come in the form of female hygiene items, and children and adult diapers. And we also need to consider that COVID-19 pandemic is still on-going; face masks, alcohol and disinfectants can prevent the spread of the disease in the evacuation centers and as they

rebuild their devastated communities.” shared France Jimenez, INCREASE Project Manager.

CARE has been working in the Philippines since 1949, helping communities prepare for disasters, and providing emergency relief and recovery when disaster strikes. CARE has ongoing programs across the Philippines, including in the areas affected by Typhoon Vamco. CARE has activated its emergency response protocol and has assessment and response teams on the ground providing assistance in coordination with partner organizations and local government units.

17

Ulysses revives opposition to P12billion Kaliwa Dam project More groups are reported to be joining a movement to oppose the construction of the P12-billion Kaliwa Dam project.

Citing the potential adverse impact of large-dam construction and the recent flooding in Luzon triggered by Typhoon Ulysses, groups opposed to the Kaliwa Dam on Sunday reiterated the call for the cancellation of the project and pushed for the protection and rehabilitation of the Sierra Madre mountain range.

Some 500 people took part in a protest action with residents of the Real, Infanta, General Nakar (REINA) towns in Quezon being joined by groups from that include bikers and riders, youth, Dumagat representatives from Quezon and Rizal, fisherfolks from SAVED Rizal, and the Urban Poor Alliance committee and other flood-affected communities in Metro Manila.

“Today we remember the flash floods and landslides in 2004 brought by Typhoon Winnie, exacerbated by illegal logging in the Sierra Madre. This tragic event killed more than 1,500 people and caused millions worth of damages. However, our government appears to forget this tragedy with its consistent support of the Kaliwa Dam that will destroy about 300 hectares of our forest areas,” Conrad Vargas, one of the conveners of STOP Kaliwa Dam Network and the Executive Director of Save Sierra Madre Network Alliance said in a news statement.

Residents of General Nakar and Infanta in Quezon and Daraitan in Tanay, Rizal experienced up to neckdeep flooding during the onslaught of Ulysses, days before the anniversary of the deadly flash flood in 2004.

More than three weeks after Typhoon Ulysses, hundreds of families remain homeless, specifically in Daraitan, and many riverside homes in Tanay, Rizal. They fear that they would experience worse once the dam is built.“This early when there’s still no dam, the flooding we are experiencing is already affecting even upland barangays in Tanay, what more when the dam is constructed? This will completely submerge communities, our ancestral lands, and destroy the mountains. We are appealing

to those living in the urban area to oppose the Kaliwa Dam,” Ma. Clara Dullas, of the Kababaihang Dumagat ng Sierra Madre (K-GAT) appealed.

Marcelino Tena, leader of SAGIBIN-LN, one of the indigenous groups in Quezon, for his part, likewise, expressed his opposition to the dam. “The Kaliwa Dam will bring harm to indigenous communities because this will destroy life, the environment and our ancestral land. We don’t want this dam because this will only be a burial ground of people, nature, culture, our rights and freedom,” he said.“Kaliwa Dam will not only destroy our natural protection from typhoons and other disasters, it will also worsen the impacts of climate change.

Climate change has significantly altered the rain patterns, to the point that it is already unpredictable. Just like what happened recently with the onslaught of five consecutive typhoons in Luzon. Dams swell to their highest water level due to frequent extreme rainfall; thus the catastrophic water releases,” explained Ian Rivera of the Philippine Movement for Climate Justice, also one of the conveners of the STOP Kaliwa Dam Network added.“The continuous destruction of our watersheds through large development projects, and the neglect and incompetence of our government to protect the environment, continue to endanger the lives of the people, particularly during climate change-induced typhoons and other extreme weather events,” Rivera added.

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TVL 11 S.Y. 2020-2021

researcher Albores, Faith Samuelle Gem C.

editors Abesamis, Frances An Beatriz H. De Castro, Maxine Redje A. Nakazawa, Keshra S.

information & references http://cagayano.tripod.com/history.html https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magat_Dam http://www.cagayan.gov.ph/about-cagayan/ https://manilastandard.net/mobile/article/339516 https://theprovinceofcagayan.wordpress.com/introduction/ http://mariis.nia.gov.ph/?q=page/mariis-dam-and-reservoir-division-ramon-isabela https://ironwulf.net/2011/08/08/cagayan-the-legend-of-apo-lakay-lakay-in-claveria/ https://www.google.com/amp/s/opinion.inquirer.net/103811/beautiful-cagayan-valley/amp https://businessmirror.com.ph/2017/10/01/cagayan-valley-grains-granary-of-the-philippines/ https://www.google.com/amp/s/newsinfo.inquirer.net/1361922/floods-show-cagayan-environmental-risks/amp https://www.google.com/amp/s/newsinfo.inquirer.net/1363548/solon-create-body-to-protect-sierra-madre-preventfloods/amphttps://www.esquiremag.ph/politics/news/cagayan-valley-s-floods-are-unprecedented-what-is-goingon-a00304-20201114-lfrm

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