Activists gathered in a Manila forest park for Earth Day on Saturday, to protest against the gradual destruction of what's dubbed "the green lung" of the Philippines capital.

For the past two years, Earth Day activities had been canceled due to COVID restrictions but this year, protesters came out in full force again.

The footage filmed on April 30 shows drone shots of the forest, and people streaming into the park to then attend musical performances and other activities there.

The Arroceros Forest Park stretches over 2.2 hectares and is a secondary growth forest consisting of 61 different tree varieties and 8,000 ornamental plants providing habitat for 10 different bird species.

Construction of new residential areas continues to threaten the last big forest in the bustling metropolis.

In the concrete jungle of Manila, the Arroceros Forest Park is the only last jungle in the bustling metropolis that houses a secondary growth forest consisting of 61 different tree varieties and 8,000 ornamental plants providing habitat for 10 different bird species. The park which has a land mass of 2.2 hectares is dubbed as 'Manila's last lung.'

After two years of being hiatus because of the COVID-19 health restrictions, the Earth Day celebration was held again there once again which aims to protect the forest from destruction and construction of new high-rise buildings in the area of 'Manila's last lung."

Musical performances, painting and other environment-friendly activites attracted visitors.