BURIAS, GLAN, Sarangani (MindaNews / 24 June 2026) — Residents who live along Barangay Burias, one of the spots identified as having shorelines with coastal uplift, are facing an uncertain future.
Not only has the beach front moved around 200 meters away, but the tectonic phenomenon has forever changed their livelihood.
The coastal uplift in Burias has been rarely visited compared to the more popular one in Pangyan. The latter is closer to the road, while Burias takes a little more navigating to get to the shore.
But easily, through ground validation and drone videos, the Burias coastal uplift is at least three to four times larger in terms of land area compared to Pangyan’s.
Saud Dianang, 19, knows this part of the sea as he has been foraging it since he was seven.
He said he was very saddened by the phenomenon.
“Wala mi magdahom nga ingon ani ang mahitabo” (We didn’t expect something like this would happen), he said.
Relying mostly on fishing before the big quake, residents here are trying to pick or catch what they could gather where fish and other marine mammals could still live.
Everywhere else in the coastal uplift was death. Gone were the corals where fish and other marine mammals used to thrive.
There was a stench of decay, and hardened sea urchins and dead seagrass everywhere. Fish lay dead.
The smaller ones that could be caught alive, the residents picked and gathered for food as they await government assistance.
Jerome Kingkim, 42, one of the co-owners of Kingkim Beach in Burias, wonders what will happen next.
As one of the community co-owners of a beach that is farther by 200 meters, he isn’t sure if the place would still be attractive to visitors.
“Amoa man ni nga panginabuhi” (This is our livelihood), Jerome says of managing the small beach resort, among at least five in the area.
Nearby, a mosque lay flattened by the Magnitude 7.8 earthquake.
Some of Kingkim’s cottages, too, were affected. One was practically pulled up from its foundation and slid off sideways.
Residents like Dianang rely on the sea not only for food but also for other income.
When tourists are around, the locals here take them to a nearby cove, Bato Buri, which is only 15 minutes away. Bato Buri is popular for a giant rock formation in the cove. The “bato” is still there, but the water has gone farther from shore, like the rest of the area affected by the coastal uplift.
When it was yet to be discovered, the cove was made popular after it made rounds on local and national media, MindaNews included, as well as from visits from motorcycle groups, enthusiasts, and vloggers.
In 2020 and 2021 when MindaNews first visited the sands, Burias was still 3.5 kilometers of bad roads away.
Some stretch of the road has been concreted since then, but the quakes damaged those, too.
The area was also home to dugongs, dolphins, and whales, wrote MindaNews’ Bong Sarmiento in 2021. But the areas that they frequented, like those with seagrass, have become so shallow. The sea turtles that were common there, may already be not familiar with the place because topography has changed.
Besides Kingkim, the other resorts operating in the village are Crystal Shore Beach Resort, Malingkat Beach Resort, and Salisipan Point View Resort.
While tourism officials from the province have since opened beach operations in areas like the more popular and populated Gumasa, Burias has a peculiar problem of the beach reshaped by topography.
Gumasa was spared by coastal uplifts, MindaNews saw on June 19.
Kingkim said he hopes the government would assist resort owners; this was a community beach and was the source of livelihood for families here. Entrance fees were ₱50 per head, while rooms range from ₱2,500 to ₱3,500 for tourists.
After showing MindaNews how to find octopus offspring, now dead, Dianang said it was like the place was “bombed.”
“Burag bula gud, buthon nimong bula, murag wala na. Wala na gyud kay makit-an. Wala na. Karon mga tao diri nag hirap na kaayo. Di parehas dati, gamay kuan, makakuha ra ka sa kilid kilid, makakuha na kag isda” (Just like a bubble, you prick it and it’s gone. Nothing is left here anymore. Life has become difficult for people here now. Unlike before, a little effort, and you can catch fish here and there), he said.
“Karon, murag mugamit pa kag pala para makakita lang ug shells” (Now you need to use a shovel just to find shells), Dianang added.
Kingkim, for his part, hoped visitors would still give Burias a chance. “This is our life,” he said. (Yas D. Ocampo / MindaNews)
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