Ongoing Research Projects

As of Second Semester AY 2025-2026

This year, the NIGS 2026 Research Grants spotlight geohazards while strengthening the science behind safer infrastructure and innovation, from improved fault and earthquake characterization to better tools for hazard assessment and risk-informed planning. Across the portfolio, researchers are combining fieldwork, remote sensing, and data-driven analysis to generate clearer, more usable information for institutions and communities.

The lineup also supports climate action through projects that track and interpret changing coastal and environmental conditions that shape long-term risk and resilience. Grounded in public service and driven by research excellence, NIGS continues to turn cutting-edge geoscience into knowledge that helps protect lives, communities, and the systems that keep them moving.

2026 Ongoing Projects

Funding Agency	Monitoring Agency	Project Title	Name of Faculty
DOST	RO VII	Freshwater Lens Monitoring in Bantayan Island, Cebu	Robert Michael DiFilippo, Ph.D.
DOST	NAST	Philippine Fe Sands and their Ti and V Enrichment Characteristics (FeSTIV): Investigating the Magnetite Sand Deposits in Leyte	Jillian Aira S. Gabo-Ratio, D.Eng.
DOST	NRCP	Simulation and mAthematical modeLing of seawater inTrusion in a selected island in the Philippines (SALT)	Robert Michael DiFilippo, Ph.D.
DOST	PCIEERD	From Source Terranes to Basin Evolution (STroBE): Geologic Evolution and Paleoclimate Studies in the Northern Cagayan Valley Sub-Basin	Jillian Aira S. Gabo-Ratio, D.Eng. and Betchaida D. Payot, Ph.D.
DOST	PCIEERD	Leveraging InSAR for Observation and modeling of earthquake Generators (LINOG)	John Dale B. Dianala, DPhil
DOST	PCIEERD	LIGTAS-AGAD Project 1: Integrating Real-Time Monitoring and Remote Sensing for Enhanced Onshore Landslide Mechanism Analysis and Forecasting in Hazard-Prone Terranes	Carla B. Dimalanta, D.Sc.
DOST	PCIEERD	PHASS Project 1: Seismic Hazard Assessment and Paleoseismology of Earthquake Sources in Northern Luzon, Philippines (SHAPES)	Noelynna T. Ramos, D.Sc.
DOST	PCIEERD	PHASS Project 2: Seismic Scanning of Active Philippine Faults Splays for Marine Geohazards (SeiScan)	Leo T. Armada, Ph.D.
DOST	PCIEERD	PHASS Project 3: 3D Geophysical Mapping of the Southern Luzon Arc Crust and Geohazard Implications (ARC3D)	Carla B. Dimalanta, D.Sc.
UP Diliman	OVCRD	Pressure-temperature-deformation (P-T-D) history of the metamorphic rocks in the Zamboanga Peninsula: Implications to the arc-continent collision in Mindanao (Project No. 242411 PhDIA YEAR 1)	Gabriel Theophilus V. Valera, D.Sc.
UP Diliman	NIGS	Assessment of the Potential Volcano Instability and Flank Collapse of Mt. Malindig Using Analog Modelling	Aris Paolo A. Castro
UP Diliman	NIGS	Evaluation of Strontium/Calcium Ratio (Sr/Ca) in Late Holocene Coral Microatolls From Balaoan, La Union as Sea-Surface Temperature (SST) Proxies	Andrea Denise A. Pamintuan
UP Diliman	NIGS	Host Rock and Alteration Mineralogy of the Fatima Veins, Mankayan Mineral District, Luzon, Philippines	Mark B. Sumaden
UP Diliman NIGS	UP Diliman NIGS	Insights on Natural Hydrogen Systems from Geochemical Reaction Modeling	Chelo S. Pascua, Ph.D.
UP Diliman NIGS	UP Diliman NIGS	Integrated Geophysical and Remote Sensing Analysis of Lineaments in Central Philippines	Joshua Godwin Cuevas
UP Diliman	NIGS	Insights on Natural Hydrogen Systems from Geochemical Reaction Modeling	Chelo S. Pascua, Ph.D.
UP Diliman	NIGS	Integrated Geophysical and Remote Sensing Analysis of Lineaments in Central Philippines	Joshua Godwin Cuevas
UP Diliman	NIGS	Inventory of Fossil Bovid Specimens in Philippine Museum and Laboratory Collections	Allan Gil S. Fernando, Ph.D.
UP Diliman	NIGS	Natural Pathways to Carbon Sequestration: Evidence from Serpentinized Mantle Rocks in Western Mindanao.	John Kenneth B. Badillo
UP Diliman	NIGS	Ostracod Assemblages of the Pliocene Laoag and Lao-ingen Formations, Ilocos Region, Philippines	Allan Gil S. Fernando, Ph.D.
UP Diliman	NIGS	Ostracod Assemblages of the Pliocene Laoag and Lao-ingen Formations, Ilocos Region, Philippines	Jillian Aira S. Gabo-Ratio, D.Eng.
UP Diliman	NIGS	Petrography and geochemistry of mantle and volcanic rocks of the Polanco Ophiolite Complex: Insights into the tectonic evolution of central Zamboanga	Betchaida D. Payot, Ph.D.
UP Diliman	NIGS	Pressure-temperature-deformation (P-T-D) history of xenolith-bearing porphyritic andesites from Sabtang and Batan Islands, Batanes: Signatures of lower crustal evolution	Mary Julia H. Elizaga
UP Diliman	NIGS	Pressure-temperature-deformation-time (P-T-D-t) history of the metamorphic rocks in the Mindoro Island Group: Insights on the western Philippine arc-continent collision zone	Lorenzo Angelo D. Valeriano
UP Diliman	NIGS	Reconstructing Paleogene-Quaternary Climate Transitions in Luzon (Philippines) Using Geochemical Weathering Proxies	Carla B. Dimalanta, D.Sc.
UP Diliman	NIGS	Rupture history of the Cotabato subduction zone and its implications for seismic hazard in southern Mindanao	John Dale B. Dianala, DPhil
UP Diliman	NIGS	Script-based Groundwater Modeling of the Bantayan Island in Cebu Province	Robert Michael DiFilippo, Ph.D.
UP Diliman	NIGS	Seismotectonics and Ground deformation associated to the 30 September 2025 M6.9 Cebu Earthquake	Mario A. Aurelio, Ph.D.
UP Diliman	NIGS	Sequential Extraction Procedure for Sulfide-hosted and Telluride Refractory Gold Ores	Kirk Justin S. Ramos
UP Diliman	NIGS	Spatiotemporal Analysis of Sinkhole Clustering and Evolution in Bogo, Cebu	Noelynna T. Ramos, D.Sc.
UP Diliman	NIGS	The "Soft-Record" Extreme: A Statistical Indictment of Flood Risk Design Standards Following the 2024 Tropical Storm Kristine Disaster in Bicol	Alfredo Mahar Francisco A. Lagmay, Ph.D.
UP Diliman	NIGS	Understanding the metamorphic rocks of the Central Zamboanga Peninsula: Insights from the P-T-D history of the Amphibolitesl	Gabriel Theophilus V. Valera, D.Sc.
UP Diliman	NIGS	Understanding the Sedimentation of Calcareous Nannofossils in Sulu Sea	Alyssa M. Peleo-Alampay, Ph.D.
UP Diliman	NIGS	Volcanic processes and hazards associated with the Pleistocene volcanic centers in Benguet Province	Sandra G. Catane, Ph.D.
UP Diliman	NIGS	Late Miocene molluscan fossil assemblage from the Dingle Formation (Passi City, Iloilo)	Raphael Francis E. Dequilla
UP Diliman	NIGS	Elasmobranch Assemblages of the Pliocene Maribojoc Formation, Bohol, Philippines.	Audric Brian R. Gardoña
International Development Research Centra Canada through the Joint Porgramming Initiative on Antimicrobial Resistance (IDRC Canada - JPIAMR)		Building resilience in the context of rapid urbanization RURBANISE – CLARE Program	Alfredo Mahar Francisco A. Lagmay, Ph.D.
International Organization for Migration (IOM)		Development of the Risk Index For Climate Displacement	Alfredo Mahar Francisco A. Lagmay, Ph.D.
Municipality of Balaoan, La Union (Balaoan, La Union)		Updating of the Municipality of Balaoan, La Union's Ecological Profile and Climate and Disaster Risk Assessment, and formulation of its Comprehensiove Land and Water Use Plan, Zoning Ordinance, Comprehensive Development Plan, Local Development Investment Program, and Local Climate Change Action Planogram, and Local Climate Change Action Plan	Alfredo Mahar Francisco A. Lagmay, Ph.D.
National Institutes of Health		Futureproofing Health: Developing a Center for Climate and Health Global Research on Disasters (CORD) Project	Alfredo Mahar Francisco A. Lagmay, Ph.D.

List of 2025 NIGS Grant Research Projects

FACULTY	TITLE OF RESEARCH (2025)
Abuda, Jamila B.	Feature Selection in ML Models for Landslide Prediction
Armada, Leo T.	Decoding Geophysical Signatures of Probable Hydrogen Gas Resources Linked with the Zambales Ophiolite Complex
Aurelio, Mario A.	Rare magnitude 5.1 Palawan earthquake of 11 June 2024 in the NW Sulu Sea Basin
Catane, Sandra G.	Reassessment of the Emplacement Mechanism of Banahaw Debris Avalanches using Hummock Morphology and Internal Structures
Cuevas, Joshua Godwin	Imaging Crustal Thickness Variations in Central Philippines using Gravity Inversion
Dianala, John Dale B.	Preservation of the 1973 Ragay Gulf earthquake rupture in Phil-Lidar data
DiFilippo, Robert Michael	Assessing High-Frequency Remote Monitoring of Designed Monitoring Wells Against Seasonal Gauging of Hand-Dug Wells for Groundwater Monitoring
Dimalanta, Carla B.	Fault mapping along Eastern Mindanao using integrated gravity, magnetics and remotely-sensed data
Fernando, Allan Gil	Fossil Ostracods from the Pliocene Tartaro Formation (San Miguel, Bulacan)
Gabo-Ratio, Jillian Aira S.	Automated Mineralogy Mapping of Refractory Gold Ores from Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy Scans of Polished Rock Sections
Lagmay, Alfredo Mahar Francisco	Lahar Deluge in the Coastal Towns of Taal Lake Following STS Trami (Kristine), October 2024
Pascua, Chelo S.	Assessing the Geochemical and Mineralogical Factors for Carbon Sequestration in the Balangiga River Watershed, Eastern Samar
Payot, Betchaida P.	Petrological variability of detrital chromian spinels from Sibuyan Island, Romblon
Peleo-Alampay, Alyssa M.	Creation of a Philippine Calcareous Nannofossil Reference Slide Collection and Occurrence Database
Peleo-Alampay, Alyssa M.	Learning Activities and Enhanced Museum Guides for Grade School and High School Students in the UP NIGS-UPGAA Geology Museum
Ramos, Kirk Justin S.	Ore Microscopy and Automated Mineralogy of Refractory Gold Ore of the Bonanza-Sandy Vein System in the Masara Gold District, Maco, Davao de Oro
Ramos, Noelynna T.	Geomorphic Controls to Slope Stability and Long-Term Deformation of the Abra River Basin in Northern Luzon
Sumaden, Mark B.	Ore Mineralogy of the Felicia Vein, Mankayan Mineral District, Luzon, Philippines
Tablizo, Meyrick	Stegodon mindanensis Naumann, 1890: A Reassessment of the Holotype in Dresden, Germany
Valera, Gabriel Theophilus V.	Understanding the metamorphic resources of the Palawan Microcontinental Block: Romblon Marble and Mindoro Jade and Garnet Amphibolite