It is a fair question, and we would rather answer it straight than oversell. A ₱99 report and a full engineering survey do two different jobs. One tells you where to look. The other tells you what to do. You usually want both, in that order.

What the ₱99 report is for

A traditional expert site visit to assess hazards can cost around ₱10,000 and takes days to arrange. Most buyers skip it, not because it is a bad idea, but because you cannot pay ₱10,000 to screen every property you are merely curious about. So the hard data sits unused until very late in the process, if at all.

The ₱99 report fills that gap. It is instant, and it pulls together the public hazard data the government already publishes: flood maps from DOST-NOAH, active faults from PHIVOLCS and GEM, storm surge, landslide, elevation, slope, waterways, and more. It reads all of that for one address and explains it in plain language.

That means you can screen a shortlist of five properties for the price of a snack, drop the ones with obvious red flags, and only spend real money investigating the ones that survive. It turns hazard data from a final-step luxury into a first-step habit.

Where the report stops

Here is the honest part. The report is preliminary screening. It is built from maps and models, read at the level of your address. It does not include:

• A soil boring test. Nobody drills into the ground for a ₱99 report. How the soil actually behaves under a building, especially the risk of liquefaction, needs physical sampling.
• An on-site inspection. No engineer walks the lot, checks drainage, looks at neighboring structures, or spots problems a map cannot show.
• A stamped, signed assessment. Banks, insurers, and the building-permit office often want a document signed by a licensed professional. The report is not that document.

This is why one of our hazard layers, liquefaction, is clearly labeled as an estimate. We model it from terrain, but we tell you plainly it is not a substitute for the authoritative PHIVOLCS map or a soil test.

When you still need an engineer

Hire a licensed geodetic, civil, or geotechnical engineer when you are past screening and moving toward a real commitment:

• You have chosen a property and are about to buy or build.
• The report flagged a serious hazard and you need to know if it is safe to proceed or smarter to walk away.
• You need documentation for a Pag-IBIG or bank loan, a building permit, or insurance.

In all of these, the report's job is already done. It got you to the engineer's office knowing exactly which hazard to ask about, instead of paying for a broad assessment with no idea what you are looking for. If you are planning for a local government office rather than a single purchase, our LGU planner guide covers how the screening fits a permit workflow.

The short answer

Is ₱99 enough? It is enough to decide whether a property is worth a closer look, and to walk into a professional assessment prepared. It is not enough to be your final word before you sign or build.

CheckHazard does not replace a professional geotechnical or engineering survey. For a purchase, loan, permit, or insurance decision, consult a licensed professional. The report is there to make that conversation sharper and cheaper, not to skip it.