Barriers to Geohazard Data Integration in Local Development Plans: Evidence from Antipolo City, Philippines

Abstract

The Philippines ranks among the world’s most disaster-exposed countries, yet high-quality national geohazard data does not always translate into enforceable local risk-reduction policy. This study examined how geohazard susceptibility information from the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) is reflected in the local development plans of Antipolo City, a rapidly urbanizing city in Rizal Province where an estimated 92% of residents live in a barangay rated highly susceptible to rain-induced landslides and 56% to flooding. Using a mixed-methods case study design, the study combined document analysis of the city’s Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP) and Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Plan (LDRRMP) with a survey and key-informant interviews involving 230 respondents from the MGB, city government, barangay government, and community groups. Results show that both plans cite MGB hazard data and support No-Build Zone designation, but rely on different, outdated datasets applied with inconsistent susceptibility tiers, and that the LDRRMP’s own hazard map contradicts its accompanying flood-classification text. Enforcement is further constrained by the coarse resolution of 1:10,000-scale national maps relative to sitio-level planning needs, a shortage of GIS-trained local staff, and social and political resistance to restricting development in long-established, high-risk settlements. The study proposes a governance framework anchored in non-divertible budget allocations to support geohazard data standardization, site-specific technical assessment, local capacity building, and participatory risk communication, offering a transferable model for other rapidly urbanizing Philippine LGUs to convert national geoscientific data into enforceable, locally owned disaster risk reduction policy.