Faulting and

Seismic Zones of
the Philippines
CIV 414 STRUC04
Fault in the Philippines

Earthquakes occur quite frequently in

the Philippines due largely to its
location.

The country lies along the “Pacific Ring

of Fire,” home to several tectonic plate
boundaries that stretch from Indonesia
to the coast of Chile within a 40,000-km
arc of seismic violence that triggers
volcanic eruptions and unleashes
earthquakes almost every day.

A fault line is defined as a geological

fracture wherein the movement of
masses of rock has displaced parts of
the Earth’s crust. A rapid movement of a
fault line may produce a powerful energy
that can trigger a strong earthquake.
Fault in the Philippines

Three tectonic plates that encircle the

country are the Philippine Plate in the
East; the Eurasian Plate in the West; and
the Indo-Australian Plate in the South.
The existence of several fault lines
across the country is a manifestation of
the movements of these tectonic plates.

The Philippines is located in latitude 5°

to 19°45' N. and longitude 116° to 128°
E. Metropolitan Manila is located in the
center of Luzon Island, between Manila
Bay, which extends to the South China
Sea, and Laguna de Bay. Many
earthquake generators are distributed all
over the country as shown in Figure
2.1.1.
List Of Active Fault Lines In The Philippines

1. Marikina Valley Fault (Montalban, San Mateo, Marikina, Pasig, Taguig, Muntinlupa, San Pedro,
Binan, Carmona, Santa Rosa, Calamba, Tagaytay, Oriental Mindoro)
2. Western Philippine Fault (Luzon Sea, Mindoro Strait, Panay Gulf, Sulu Sea)
3. Eastern Philippine Fault (Philippine Sea)
4. Southern of Mindanao Fault (Moro Gulf, Celebes Sea)
5. Central Philippine Fault (Entire Ilocos Norte, Aurora, Quezon, Masbate, Eastern Leyte, Southern
Leyte, Agusan Del Norte, Agusan Del Sur, Davao del Norte)

Of these, the MARIKINA VALLEY FAULT poses the greatest danger because it cuts through all the
modern and progressive portions of Manila such as Eastwood, Rockwell, Ortigas Center, Bonifacio
Global City, Ayala Center, and Alabang. Also, the PhiVolcs people have warned that this fault line
can move anytime because it is already “11 years late” for its movement.

*The earthquake that destroyed Guinsaugon is the Central Philippine Fault

*The 1990 earthquake that destroyed Central Luzon and Baguio is also the Central Philippine Fault.
Earthquake Generators

The Eurasian Plate (or South China Plate) subducts

eastward beneath Luzon Island along the Manila
Trench, and the Philippine Sea Plate subducts
westward along the East Luzon Trench
simultaneously as shown in Figure 2.1.2. Because of
this complex tectonic setting, Luzon Island shows
high seismic activity.

The Philippine Islands are sandwiched between two

opposite subduction zones. A long, inland Philippine
Fault Zone (PFZ) lies parallel to the subduction
trenches. The PFZ is assumed to release the shear
stress caused by the oblique subduction of the
ocean plates. Many faults are identified around
Metropolitan Manila; the West Valley Fault (WVF)
and the East Valley Fault (EVF), which run north to
south along the west and east edge of the Marikina
Valley, are thought to pose the greatest threat to
Metropolitan Manila due to their proximity
The faults and trenches around Metropolitan
Manila are shown in Figure 2.1.3. The fault
traces based on geological survey (bold
lines) are used for the analysis of inland
fault and the fault traces based on seismic
activities (thin lines) are used for the
analysis of offshore fault. Results of several
trenching excavation surveys at WVF (West
Valley Fault) and EVF (East Valley Fault)
indicate that at least two or perhaps four
large surface-rupturing events have
occurred since AD 600. Therefore, the
recurrence interval of the earthquakes
generated is less than 500 years. Bautista
(2000) has suggested that the 1658 and
1771 earthquakes could be candidate events
for the EVF. However, no event along the
WVF is known. If no earthquake had
occurred at the WVF after the 16th century,
then the earthquake occurrence along the
WVF becomes a serious threat.
See NSCP 2015 for
Active Faults per Region