Students from various schools in the towns of Infanta, Real, and General Nakar received a refreshing spray of water from a fire truck after completing a seven-kilometer fun run for Sierra Madre Day in Barangay Banugao, Infanta, Quezon Province on September 26, 2026.

Sierra Madre Day is observed annually, since 2012, on September 26 in the Philippines to raise awareness about the protection and conservation of the country’s longest mountain range.

The fun run is one of the creative protests to call for an end to illegal and unregulated quarrying along the Agos River. They participants opposed the Kaliwa Dam and energy projects they fear would damage the forest, while calling for the protection of the mountains, natural resources, and livelihoods of local communities and indigenous peoples, including the Agta and Dumagat-Remontado.

The Kaliwa Dam is a major water infrastructure project being built across Quezon and Rizal provinces to supply extra water to Metro Manila.

Environmental and tribal groups warn that the project threatens the ancestral lands and sacred sites of the Dumagat-Remontado indigenous peoples.

Critics note that construction and potential flooding could damage local forests and wildlife habitats in the Sierra Madre mountain range.

Opponents also question the loan terms and financial agreements tied to foreign funding.

After the fun run, the students were joined by civil society organizations and church groups including the Southern Tagalog for Environmental Development and Protection of Sierra Madre (STEP Sierra Madre) and Ugnayan ng Mamamayan Laban sa Mapaminsalang Dam (UMALMA DAM) for other protest activities.

An on-the-spot painting contest and a digital art competition was participated in by youth and students.

The theme of the Siera Madre Day celebration was “Sierra Madre ay Buhay: Kabataan, Kumilos! Kalikasan ay Ipaglaban, Kinabukasan ay Panindigan.”

Text and Photos by Romeo Mariano / Mata: Asia Press Photo