Leading advocate for Sierra Madre鈥檚 protection dies
LUCENA CITY, QUEZON, Philippines — Fr. Pedro “Pete” Montallana, a Franciscan priest and tireless advocate for the protection of the Sierra Madre mountain ranges, died on Monday, at the age of 75.
Prelature of Infanta Bishop Bernardino Cortez made the announcement through a post on Facebook.
“Fr. Pete joined the Father on 27 January 2025 due to health complications,” Cortez shared, though no further details about his condition were disclosed.
Cortez described Montallana as someone who “lived his life dedicated to the Charism of St. Francis, serving the indigenous people (IP) of the Prelature since 1993,” officially becoming part of the prelature in 2022.
Until his passing, he served as the parish administrator of the Prelature Shrine of St. Joseph in Polillo Island, Quezon.
Montallana’s remains lie at the Santo Niño Chapel at St. Mark Cathedral in Infanta, Quezon.
He was best known for his leadership as president of the Save Sierra Madre Network Alliance (SSMNA), a group that staunchly opposed the controversial Kaliwa Dam project at the Sierra Madre, which is supported by the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System and funded by a P12.2-billion Chinese loan to address the dwindling water supply in Metro Manila and surrounding areas.
READ: ‘False consent,’ priest says of Kaliwa Dam OK
It involves the construction of a 60-meter-high concrete gravity dam on Kaliwa River, creating a reservoir spanning 291 hectares.
It has been met with opposition amid an SSMNA study showing the dam will submerge the mountain village of Pagsangahan in General Nakar, Quezon, flood 9,700 ha of watershed, and displace 1,465 families.
