Sierra Madre trended on Twitter and other social media platforms on September 25, 2022, in the aftermath of Typhoon Karding’s devastation in the Philippines.
The Sierra Madre is the country’s longest mountain range, stretching over 540 kilometers.
It stretches from the province of Cagayan to the province of Quezon.
It saves millions of lives in Luzon by covering ten provinces and three regions.
It is known as the “backbone of Luzon” because it functions as a barrier against powerful typhoons and waves.
Although it does not stop powerful storms, the Sierra Madre weakens them and absorbs the most damaging strikes.
It has a total land area of 1.4 million hectares
Someone even shared a screenshot of a satellite view of Karding’s influence and how the Sierra Madre can mitigate it on Twitter.
According to a Facebook post by Ceazar Ryan Aquino, a lawyer, there is a bill pending in the House of Representatives that wants to improve the conservation and development of the Sierra Madre Region.
The Sierra Madre Development Authority will be constituted if the bill is passed.
He said, the author of the bill is Cong. Faustino Dy V.
In an explanatory note, Dy said in 2016, super typhoon Lawin weakened from Category 5 to Category 3 after hitting the Sierra Madre.
Sierra Madre also weakened typhoon Ulysses in 2020, which went from 155 kph to 130 kph after hitting range.
The said bill, or House Bill No. 1972, was resubmitted to the 19th Congress by Cong. Fidel Nograles.
On social media, many netizens are hoping that the Sierra Madre will once again protect Luzon against Karding’s ravages.
They also raised resistance to the development of the Kaliwa Dam, which would be surrounded by the Sierra Madre Mountains.
Netizens further stated that, despite the Sierra Madre’s constant destruction, it continues to defend the people.
