October of last year, upon a tip of a friend, I wrote in this site that there may be an active fault line that traverses part of Sta. Rosa. The image on the left below was released by the online version of ABS-CBN News showing the so-called Valley Fault System.
To see the full image click here to see the various active fault lines and trenches in the Philippines as lifted from Phivolcs’ website, then click on Region IV-A or CALABARZON.
By comparing the two images above, it’s apparent that at least the southern part of Sta. Rosa is traversed by this fault line. Everyone who saw these images came to the same conclusion.
The veracity of this issue has bothered me for a long time. This fault line has been discussed in at least one forum and has caused anxiety among some who have invested in real estate properties in the area. Most often mentioned is Nuvali.
Just this Tuesday, June 15, I received a question from a reader asking if Venare in Nuvali is traversed by this fault line.
To settle the matter ones and for all, I went to Phivolcs (Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology) yesterday and tried to find out what I could about the Valley Fault System. I was directed to go to the Geology, Geophysics, Research and Development Division. There, I was told that anyone can apply for a “fault certification” for any property or project that he suspects might be near or lies along a fault line. Such certification will either confirm or dispel such suspicion.
So for 500 pesos, I requested that they plot the Valley Fault System relative to the location of Nuvali. I also submitted three satellite images of Sta. Rosa that was given to me last year by Mrs. Nelly Gomez, Sta. Rosa’s City Assessor.
When told that they also needed a vicinity map of Nuvali, a staff helped me get online to secure this map.
Place your cursor on the cross hair in the middle of your screen to make the Nuvali map light up in yellow. Play around with it, zoom in and out, to examine the area. Note that places in Wikimapia are tagged by its users, including myself, to the best of our knowledge and we do not claim that our tags are 100% accurate. If anyone among you feel that the map of Nuvali is incorrect, I cordially invite you to join Wikimapia and edit it. Click on the Nuvali map then click “Menu” and choose “Resize outline (polygon).”
Be informed that serious users of Wikimapia do not take “vandalism” lightly; members have the responsibility to improve the maps, not make them worse.
Back to Phivolcs, I took pictures of a larger (3 feet by 2 feet) and more detailed map that shows the active fault lines in Region IVA or CALABARZON. Below is the map showing the Valley Fault System relative to the location of Sta. Rosa.
The slightly curving vertical broken lines inside the upright rectangle represent part of this fault line.
I will not make any conclusion based on this picture but I can’t help noticing that the fault line “appears” distant. What do you think?
I was told to call Philvolcs on Monday to see if the certification is ready for pick up. I will post the findings of Phivolcs as soon as I get my hands on it.
Update: I called up Phivolcs today, June 21, and was told that they are not yet done with the fault certification. I was told to call again on Wednesday for possible pick up the same day.
Thank you so much.
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As far as I can tell, Wedgewood is not traversed by the West Valley Fault.
In order to be certain, I have set an appointment with the Sales Head of San Miguel Properties, Inc. (or SMPI), Mr. Julio Jalandoni. We shall have a meeting on May 9, Wednesday.
Please do watch out for my follow up comment.
Thank you
I am planning to buy a lot in Wedgewood Subd. (San Miguel Properties) in Sta. Rosa, Laguna. Is there a fault line within the vicinity. If there is, where is it located ?
Any infos would be greatly appreciated.
hi,,, last night nag karoon ng earthquake in sta.rosa pero di naman malakas, aside from nuvali meron pa po bang ibang areas dito sa sta.rosa na na transverse ng faultine… specifically here in market area and barangay tagapo where sm mall is located…. thank you so much..
yes,there is a faultline in Binan,Laguna..ang alam ko Rosario if you are aware of the Villages inside Pacita..Juan 3 is the most affected actually sira na ang ibang bahay dyan,if you want you can check it,may project nga din dyan na Ecocentrum i don’t if itutuloy pa yan kasi sa may area na yan ang fault..
jaz want to ask if villa de toledo subd. infront of enchanted kingdom is near to the fault line.. we have a housing project kc po dito.
Hello Ronald;
All indications point to Westgrove being traversed by the west valley fault.
Thanks for dropping by.
Is WESTGROVE AYALA HEIGHTS in Silang Cavite near the fault line? If not, how far it is?
Thanks a lot, Tulisanes
It’s very helpful what you’re doing here.
I’ll be the first in line to ask for that information
My best regards
hi, simply on the topic of marikina faultline, i assembled maps (google map circa 2011) that can help people locate/determine which subdivisions/barangays/streets (yes, streets are identified) that have the marikina valley faultline running through them from EAST to WEST of the faultline system.
pls ask and i’ll give the info free.
e-mail me at tulisanes1860@gmail.com
(in return, i just ask that you pass forward the information to other people whose lives you could be saving someday).
my many thanks! – tulisanes
Hello Mons;
You obviously know a lot more than we do and we love to hear more from you.
If you don’t mind, can you share with us the nature of your work. If appropriate, I can include you in my Directory.
I agree with you 101% that developers have the obligation to make full public disclosures about their projects including geological hazard reports. In fact, I believe that both the Senate and Congress should make this a law.
Thanks a lot for dropping by, Mons.
Hello Mari, as usual, pardon me for this late reply.
I was basically told by Phivolcs that if I want an accurate mapping of the subject active fault, I will have to hire an expert geodetic engineer to have the whole area “mapped.” That obviously will cost me a fortune. I had our small property surveyed to make certain of its exact location as specified in its TCT and I paid P15,000.
The best thing is to ask Ayala Land for the map of Nuvali. But if they know the purpose for which it shall be used, obviously they will not give me one.
Perhaps we should ask mons cruz how this should be done.
Thanks a lot, Mari; again my apologies.
input lang po ng ideas. i think kaya mukhang malapit yung fault line dun sa map from abs-cbn dahil po maliit yung map. i mean yung scale nya is mallit like mga 1:250,000 (this means 1 centimeter represent 2.5 kilometers.)po cguro. unlike yung from Phivolcs, malaki yung scale, like 1: 25,000 or mas malaki pa po.
also, dapat po yung mga nagpapatayo po ng mga buildings and nagpapagawa na subdivision ay required po na magsubmit ng engineering and geological hazard assessment report. geologist po gumagawa. i don’t know po bakit yung iba nakakalusot. dapat yung mga bumibili ng properties hinihingi po yang mga ganyang reports.para aware po tayo sa geological situtaion ng bibilhin nating property.
kung me tanong po kayo regarding sa mga ganyang stuff, you can contact me po.
Hello! Any update with your Fault Certification for Nuvali? The topic came up again after what happened in Negros. Thank you for your reply…
dont worry about the fault unless GODZILLA comes out and destroys Nuvali!!
According to the Phivolcs people, the fault in Binan, Laguna is in San Francisco Halang.
saan po may fault line sa binan?
Hello Nanette,
I hope to answer your question when I get the certification. I hope that’s okay with you.
Thanks a lot
Hello Robert,
I called Phivolcs yesterday afternoon and I was told that they haven’t even started working on my request yet. I was told to follow up tomorrow. What a great way to deal with government red tapes : (
Thanks for dropping by, Robert
Hi Jun, any update about the result from Phivolcs?
Robert
Hi Jun,
Is it not a protocol for the land developers to get the Fault Certification from Phivolcs? Or maybe other government agency should be the one doing this e.g. HLURB.
I am still optimistic of the result.
Hello Nanette,
You’re the first person I thought about when I posted this. What I regret is I should have done this a long time ago.
Thanks for dropping by, Nanette.
Hello Josee,
I agree with you 100%. But what really bothers me is why developers in the area, Particularly Ayala Land chose to be silent on this matter. With thousands of people under its employ, I’m sure some of them have known about this issue or seen it discussed in at least one forum that I mentioned above. There are several Ayala Land agents and brokers participating in that forum but none went the extra mile to dig deeper into it.
Thanks a lot for dropping by, Josee.
Hi Jun,
I’m a bit anxious also to find out if Nuvali is indeed traversing a faultline. I was just wondering why the developers of Nuvali didn’t apply, in the first place, for a “Fault Certification” from Philvolcs prior to their development of the area, and that should apply as well to other developments around Sta Rosa lying on a faultline. With the occurrences of the sinkhole phenomenon in Guatemala and across China, it becomes kinda worrying, isn’t it?
I can’t wait for the result Jun. I am very sure that Nuvali is far from the faultline.
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