A GROUP of indigenous people (IP) joined the renewed calls to stop the Mineral Production Sharing Agreement (MPSAs) within the Upper Marikina River Basin Protected Landscape (UMRBPL) and the Masungi Geopark Project (MGP).
In a petition dated May 19, 2022, some 100 leaders and members of the Dumagat-Remontado tribe of Antipolo asked President Duterte, Department of Environment and Natural Resources Officer in Charge Secretary Jim Sampulna, and Rizal Governor Rebecca Yñares to save the Susong Dalaga mountain from quarrying.
They said that the mountain is sacred to their community and forms part of their heritage given its inclusion to their ancestral domain.
“We are worried to know that our beloved mountain is contained in two quarries with MPSA under the name of Rapid City and Quarry Rock,” they added.
“In case like that, Susong Dalaga will be gone because the rocks will be mined and the mountain will be flattened. The rivers and water provided by Susong Dalaga will dry up,” they added.
Per the areas covered by the two MPSAs, the quarries would level down around 1,000 hectares of mountains within the protected area including the Susong Dalaga shrine considered sacred by the tribe. A deep scar—400 meters high, 1,200 meters wide, and 5,000 meters long—on the mountains immediately fronting Marcos Highway would also be created.
The IP group, likewise, expressed concern about the floods and landslides that would cause destruction to their homes and farms, and even create an impact on those living in downstream areas.
It was noted that the floods and landslides that affected San Mateo, Rodriguez, Marikina, Cainta, Pasig and other towns and cities during typhoons “Ondoy,” “Rolly,” and “Ulysses” originated from these mountains.
With these in mind, the group urged government officials and quarry companies to withdraw their plans to quarry Susong Dalaga.
They also asked that resorts and other destructive activities be similarly averted and removed from the MGP and the protected areas.
Image credits: Billie Dumaliang