FOLLOWING the discovery of 24 additional sinkholes, the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) 7 has announced that earthquake-affected towns in northern Cebu are now required to formulate a new Comprehensive Land Use Plan (Clup).
OCD 7 Director Joel Erestain said the measure is mandatory due to the emergence of subsidence and a new fault line after the recent magnitude 6.9 quake last Sept. 30, 2025.
“It should be required, not only encouraged; it should be required for them to come up with a new Clup,” Erestain said in an interview after a press briefing at the Philippine Information Agency 7 on Thursday, Oct. 16.
“They have to come up with a new land use plan for rezoning because subsidence (sinkholes) and a fault line are appearing,” he added.
SunStar Cebu reported on Thursday, Oct. 16, that the emergence of numerous sinkholes in Cebu, particularly in the northern towns is due to a combination of the island’s unique geology, it’s ground composition of limestone and the extreme ground shaking from the tremor.
More sinkholes discovered
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Mines and Geosciences Bureau (DENR-MGB) 7 is still conducting an inventory on the extent of the damage.
DENR-MGB 7 Chief Geologist Karlo Queaño confirmed that a new team discovered 24 more sinkholes in Bogo City and San Remigio.
This brings the total number of identified sinkholes to at least 94, following the previous discovery of 70 sinkholes by a different team.
Queaño, who appeared on SunStar Cebu’s online program Beyond the Headlines on Thursday, explained the agency’s ongoing assessment.
A team is using ground-penetrating radar (GPR) surveys to check areas near sinkholes, as well as locations of schools, tent cities, and houses, to ensure that these are not at risk.
The agency is also monitoring other geological hazards.
“It’s not just the sinkholes; but we also identified, together with the Phivolcs, earthquake-induced landslides because these landslides can be remobilized in the form of rain-induced landslides especially when other disturbances go in,” Queaño said. / CDF