THE Cebu Provincial Government announced plans to revive Project NOAH (Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazards), a disaster preparedness and hazard-mapping initiative previously implemented during the term of former governor Hilario Davide III.
Cebu Province Assistant Administrator Aldwin Empaces said in an interview on Monday, November 10, 2025, that the Provincial Government aims to update the project’s data to reflect changes in the province’s landscape.
“Currently, based on data from the Cebu Protected Landscape, of the 28,000 hectares, almost 10,000 hectares—or nearly 30 percent—are now being used for different purposes. This means they are no longer really protected areas,” Empaces said in a mix of Cebuano and English.
He cited areas such as parts of Barangays Sudlon and Bonbon that are now being used for farming instead of forest cover.
“There are already crops planted there and fewer trees. But we cannot simply take away people’s livelihoods,” he added.
Empaces emphasized the need to balance development with environmental protection.
“Let’s balance development and ecological sustainability because that should be the future of Cebu moving forward,” Empaces said.
He explained that the review of quarry operations ordered by Governor Pamela Baricuatro on July 28 was part of the effort to align current development activities with scientific data and hazard assessments from the earlier Project NOAH report in 2017 and 2018.
Last July, Baricuatro suspended 10 quarry operators and nine special disposal permit holders for 30 days following complaints about their “poor operations.”
The companies operated under the supervision of the Provincial Government. The directive aimed to allow for a comprehensive review of existing permits, Baricuatro said.
A month later, in September, the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (PENRO) formally ordered 19 companies holding quarry and special disposal permits in Cebu Province to cease and desist operations.
“Now you understand why the Governor reviewed the quarry operations for a month. It’s important that before issuing permits, we check whether the area is within the hazard map and what risks are involved. We have to be scientific and evidence-based when making decisions,” Empaces said.
The Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) is now coordinating with the University of the Philippines Resilience Institute to review and update the previous Project NOAH data.
“The landscape has changed since 2017 and 2018, so we have to seek the help of the UP Resilience Institute to review Project NOAH,” Empaces said, adding that the Provincial Capitol has already contacted Project NOAH Executive Director Mahar Lagmay.
Project NOAH, established in 2011 during the administration of then President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III, was the country’s flagship disaster risk reduction and management program under the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).
The project was defunded in 2017 during the Duterte administration and is now managed by the University of the Philippines as the UP NOAH Center.
Empaces said the Provincial Government under Davide funded Cebu’s participation in Project NOAH as part of its early recovery and rehabilitation efforts following the devastation caused by Typhoon Yolanda in November 2013. (CDF)