An island situated in the mouth of Manila Bay and at the end of the town of Hagonoy, the barangay of Tibaguin is a hundred-year old community that was developed from a mangrove to a residential area in the 1800s. It was once a place for commercial trade between merchants from Manila, Bulacan, Pampanga, Bataan and parts of Cavite. Due to the influx of traders, the mangroves in the island was slowly being destroyed, thus giving birth to its name “Tibagan” and later on became “Tibaguin.”

Due to its geographic location, the island of Tibaguin being surrounded by bodies of water has been vulnerable to different kinds of disaster such as flood and typhoon. Through the years, the island faced challenges of time and climate change.

According to a report The Philippines: A Climate Hotspot, there will be a one-meter rise in the sea level that is projected to happen in 2300 and onwards. An increase in sea level would accelerate flooding in coastal areas around Manila Bay, which can experience subsidence (or sinking of land) at an alarming rate of three centimeters a year.

This photo essay features the island’s way and source of living despite the floods. It also captures how the residents of Tibaguin keep up with the times and tides as their beloved island is slowly sinking and eaten up by the sea and how the local government of Hagonoy with the help of non-government organization such as Fostering Education & Environment for Development (FEED Inc) responds to the island’s need to protect and restore their environment and natural resources.

The photo essay wants to show that despite threats of being erased in the map, the island of Tibaguin and its residents will find its way to rise above the tides.