Did you know that some areas in Cebu were once part of the sea? Find out where these lost shorelines were.
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| Kids playing by the shore with a docked ship in the background (colorized/outpainted) |
There was a time when the beach was just a stone's throw away from the city center, and people back in the day could meet up with the fishermen with their fresh catch. If you have a time machine, you could travel back in time when the Cebu you know was like a totally different place.
Imagine seeing the North Reclamation Area and the massive SM shopping mall disappear as the sea slowly reclaims the land where fishing villages once occupied. With access to a selection of old Cebu maps, we can see how the old shorelines were. Of course, these maps are not that accurate, so we have to adjust the projection so it would fit with the landmarks that still exist (like Fort San Pedro and the Sto. Niño Church) today.
The old city of Cebu was an important pre-colonial port kingdom (“Indianized mandala”) on the island of Cebu. Its name Sugbu is believed to mean “to wade or walk in water,” reflecting the central role of waterways in early life (the Spanish and later colonizers entered via the sea). Historic accounts note Cebu’s large harbor with entrances on both the west and east sides.
By playing a key role in the local and regional trade networks, the extensive shoreline was its real asset, thanks to the rich resources both in land and sea that it can export. A hub of maritime activity before the Spanish conquest suggests that the shore and its wetlands would see dramatic changes over centuries. These lost waterways, estuaries, lakes, and marshes would influence today's flooding and urban layout.
Historical Waterfronts and Waterways
Sugbu, as it was known, was a coastal maritime polity centered at Singhapala (modern Mabolo, Cebu City) with a thriving port and riverine networks. Early Chinese traders and local Visayan communities settled in low-lying coastal marshes.
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| A Guardia Civil looking on as men and children alike sit on a boat by the seashore (colorized/outpainted) |
When the Spanish arrived, they found its city's core ringed by streams and saltwater marshes. Spanish authorities drained and reclaimed these wetlands to expand the colonial city grid. For example, the Jesuit House (1730) was built on land reclaimed from the Tinago Marsh at the edge of the early Spanish settlement. Archaeological and sedimentary evidence indicate that the downtown coastal plain was submerged during a late Holocene high-sea-level stand and later dissected by creeks (Guadalupe River and local rivulets). Relict stream channels and remnant terraces underlie the modern city, reflecting migrating shoreline channels cut by rivers in pre‑colonial times.
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| People hanging out at a makeshift wooden dock in front of Fort San Pedro (colorized/outpainted) |
Historic maps record lost waterways. Spanish-era maps (1699–1873) show rivers and esteros that have since vanished under urban fill. For instance, old maps depict the Parian Marsh as a saltwater inlet (1742) that gradually silted up and was closed off from the sea by 1873. By the late 1700s, the “Parian estero” had begun to fill in and was no longer navigable. Similarly, Spanish maps labelled the “rio” of Parian and the “rio” of Lutaos as connected streams; those waterways once carried seawater through the Colon district, but they were later covered by reclamation and roads.
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| Cebu's bustling port area helped transform the city's seascape (colorized/outpainted) |
Historian Michael Cullinane notes that barrios like Panting, Laguna, and Kanipaan (now in downtown Colon) were low-lying flood-prone areas built on filled marshes. In short, many old waterfronts and canals were systematically altered or buried as Cebu City expanded.
Shoreline Changes
As Cebu City grew, colonial planners continuously extended the shoreline. By the 19th century, the original harbor was partially infilled, and port facilities expanded. Tidal flats and mangroves around Punta Princesa and Pasil were reclaimed for port development. Soil stratigraphy confirms that areas now inland (Plaza Independencia, Parian) were once tidal marshes.
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| Superimposing old maps on Google Maps will give you a rough idea of where the shoreline was (click to enlarge) |
In the 1960s, the city government undertook a large reclamation north of Pier 3 in the Cebu-Mactan Channel. Beginning in 1962 and completed by 1969, this project pushed out ~169–191 hectares of new land spanning Cebu City and neighboring Mandaue. The NRA greatly expanded the port of Cebu and created new developable land near downtown (e.g. SM City Cebu opened there in 1993.
In 1997, Cebu built the South Reclamation Project (~300 hectares) off the southern coast (near Mambaling and Inayawan). This huge landfill (financed by a Japanese loan) converted Kawit Island and the adjacent sea into Cebu’s new commercial district (SM Seaside City, Cebu Business Park, casino resorts). The Cebu–Cordova Link Expressway (2022) further connects SRP to Mactan Island, solidifying this reclaimed coast as Cebu’s “frontier” development zone.
During the Marcos era, the government centralized reclamation. Presidential Decree 1084 (1977) established the Public Estates Authority (PEA) to coordinate reclamation efforts. PD 1346 (1978) transferred all lands reclaimed under the Cebu Port Development and Reclamation Project to the PEA. This decree mandated the PEA to own/administer formerly private reclamation titles, effectively nationalizing the new foreshore. In practice, this enabled large-scale reclamation (NRA, SRP, future projects) under a single agency.
Cartographic Analysis
Researchers have begun aligning old Spanish-era and American-era maps of Cebu with modern geographic data. For instance, researchers digitized Cebu City maps from 1833 and 1873 and performed rubber-sheet transformations to overlay them on today’s Google Maps. This “image alignment” revealed that many historical water basins and river courses no longer appear on current maps. In some cases, entire streams seen in the 1800s have vanished under urban development.
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| Five historical maps superimposed on Google Maps (click to enlarge) |
By overlaying a modern flood-hazard map onto the transformed historical maps, they observed that reclaimed areas and altered river paths correlate strongly with today’s flood-prone neighborhoods. In other words, places where waterways were filled or diverted tend to flood more now. The study explicitly notes that old maps can “inform land use planners about ancient waterways that can become flooding hazards if improperly managed.”
More broadly, the “Lost Waterways” initiative has applied GIS to align and compare colonial-era maps of Philippine cities (including Cebu) with current data. This effort has identified “lost” rivers, estuaries, and even some newly discovered water channels in several cities. For Cebu, the methodology involves georeferencing century-old maps to locate where rivers once flowed, highlighting how the city’s historical shorelines and wetlands have shifted.
Environmental and Societal Impacts
Covering historic waterways and wetlands has amplified flooding even in moderate to heavy rains. Substandard flood control projects and annual typhoons have made things worse due to the absence of these important waterways. Cebu City’s old canals and marshes once absorbed rainfall; when they were filled, rainwater had fewer outlets.
Experts note that the disappearance of natural streams “magnifies present-day flooding” and point out that many wetlands (natural sponges) have already been covered, removing critical buffers against storm surges. Frequent rain-related inundations now plague Colon and downtown areas that lie on the old Parian-Lutaos estuary network. City planners are dredging drains and pumping water out of low-lying barrios, but acknowledge that relying solely on infrastructure is inadequate without restoring some natural flow paths.
Coastal reclamation has led to the direct loss of marine habitats. Studies show that landfilling “literally erases the marine resources along the shore” by smothering intertidal reefs and fish grounds. A study (2005) found that Cebu’s coastal fill projects destroyed coral and reef flats that local fishers depended on. The 330-hectare SRP alone (the largest CSRP project) inundated extensive reef and mangrove areas, reducing shoreline biodiversity and fish stocks.
These environmental losses translate into major social costs. The 2005 reclamation assessment emphasized that the projects’ “environmental costs… are not trivial.” In particular, poor fishing communities bear the brunt: reclamation in Metro Cebu (circa 2000s) reportedly affected ~1,400 households (JICA ex-post survey) by eliminating reef-gleaning and small-boat fisheries. Fishers lost traditional livelihoods (hand-picking, reef-fishing) and were forced into low-wage service jobs. In short, old maps and ethnographic data concur that turning sea to land has impoverished many who lived off the shore, a trade-off policymakers only belatedly recognized.
Important Lessons
Scholars and planners argue that colonial-era maps are invaluable for flood resilience. The June 2025 forum (“Bahâ! Tracing Cebu’s Lost Waterways”) highlighted how 18th–19th century maps uncover hidden rivers now buried under the city. This knowledge suggests where to restore drains or green corridors. For example, reviving even parts of the former Parian–Lutaos stream corridor could help channel rainwater away from flooded barrios. The idea is to treat historical waterways as “natural heritage” and as planning tools to relieve floods.
The Cebu case warns that reclamation should account for external costs. Economic studies of Metro Cebu found that ignoring the value of fisheries, reefs, and wetlands led to poor cost-benefit analysis. In future projects (e.g. planned expansions in Poblacion-Alegria or new Cebu Bay developments), environmental impact assessments must include social costs to the poorest coastal users.
Finally, understanding Cebu’s “lost shorelines” enriches heritage. Many downtown roads (e.g. Parian Street, Panting, Kanipaan) trace former streams or marsh edges. Archaeological digs confirm that building foundations (Jesuit House, Casa Gorordo) sit on reclaimed land. Protecting these heritage sites and publicizing Cebu’s maritime past can foster a sense of continuity. In sum, mapping Cebu’s bygone coasts not only illuminates why floods happen today but also guides more sustainable coastal management tomorrow.
Resources
Academic and Government Reports
Gallanosa, A. D., & Soriano, M. L. G. (2015). Lost rivers and urban flooding: The case of Cebu City, Philippines. In Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Water Resources and Environment Research (ICWRER).
Jubilo, C. A., Tan, M. A., Paringit, E., & Sevilla, G. (2018). Tracing lost waterways: Urban heritage mapping using historic maps and remote sensing. In Proceedings of the Asian Conference on Remote Sensing (ACRS), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Montenegro, A. A. D., Villanueva, J. D. V., & Curaming, M. L. D. (2005). The Environmental Costs of Coastal Reclamation in Metro Cebu, Philippines: Valuation using the Damage Function Method. University of San Carlos (USC) and Economy and Environment Program for Southeast Asia (EEPSEA).
Nishimura, M. (2019). Historical Landscape in Cebu City: Study of Spanish Period Urbanization and Modern Land Development. Waseda University. Retrieved from https://www.waseda.jp/flas/glas/assets/uploads/2019/04/NISHIMURA-Masao_0759-0779.pdf
Peterson, R. E. (2009). Landscape Evolution in Cebu, Central Philippines: The Impact of Sea Level, Social History, and Tectonism on Archaeological Landscapes. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/276752657
Rickard, J. (2017). Landscapes of Death and Remembering: War, Place and Identity in the Aftermath of the Second World War in Cebu, Philippines (Doctoral thesis). Flinders University. Retrieved from https://flex.flinders.edu.au/file/29d75d6e-04db-42cc-94b4-4d81a2eb2f5f/1/THESIS_RICKARD_2017.pdf
Journal Articles
Cullinane, M. (2003). Accountability and Ethnicity in the Urban Politics of Cebu, Central Philippines, 1890–1920. Philippine Studies, 51(4), 483–522. JSTOR: https://www.jstor.org/stable/29792574
Junker, L. L. (2005). Integrating History and Archaeology in the Study of Complex Societies: An Archaeological Perspective on the Evolution of Political Complexity in the Philippines. Asian Perspectives, 44(1), 119–148. JSTOR: https://www.jstor.org/stable/20020880
Jubilo, C. A., Paringit, E. C., Tan, M. A., & Sevilla, G. (2018). Cartographic reconstruction of historical waterways in selected Philippine cities using digitized maps and GIS. Proceedings of ACRS.
News Articles and Columns
Bajo, A. (2013, May 25). Historic waterfronts and waterways in Cebu. The Freeman (Philstar.com). Retrieved from https://www.philstar.com/the-freeman/cebu-lifestyle/2013/05/25/946131/historic-waterfronts-and-waterways-cebu
Bajo, A. (2015, January 28). Reclaimed lands of Cebu City and the Public Estates Authority in 1978. The Freeman (Philstar.com). Retrieved from https://www.philstar.com/the-freeman/opinion/2015/01/28/1417641/reclaimed-lands-cebu-city-and-public-estates-authority-1978
SunStar Cebu. (2023). Why are Cebu's streets flooding? Expert says old maps hold clues. Retrieved from https://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/why-are-cebus-streets-flooding-expert-says-old-maps-hold-clues
Encyclopedic and Wikipedia Entries
Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). Cebu (historical polity). Wikipedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cebu_(historical_polity)
Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). North Reclamation Area. Wikipedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Reclamation_Area
Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). South Road Properties. Wikipedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Road_Properties
Preprints and Conference Papers
Seki, M., & Nakamura, S. (2018). History of coastline changes in the Philippines from 19th to 20th century based on old maps. arXiv preprint arXiv:1812.05756. https://arxiv.org/pdf/1812.05756
Ureta, J. G. (2014). Environmental and Social Impact of Coastal Reclamation in the Philippines: Policy Issues and Recommendations. Semanticscholar. Retrieved from https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/9626/195c93799eac7983bdaba6a204f82403d8f4.pdf
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