On Pugat Island in Bulacan, life begins and ends with the sea. At sunrise, families rush to scoop out floodwater from their homes before school begins. By evening, the tides return, threatening to undo the day’s work.

For the island’s 2,500 residents, survival has become a relentless cycle of rebuilding. Homes are raised on stilts, schools schedule classes around tide charts, and roads are repeatedly reconstructed — only to disappear again under the waves.

Pugat is sinking at an alarming 11 centimeters per year, driven by decades of groundwater overuse. But the bigger threat comes from global sea levels, which are rising three times faster in the Philippines than the world average. In some areas, floodwaters already climb as high as 1.5 meters.

For residents like Maricel, the decision is agonizing: “I love this place. It’s where my parents raised us. But during storms, I get so nervous I think of leaving for the mainland.”

Yet many stay. Fishing and sea-based livelihoods remain their only source of income. “If we leave, we’ll starve,” one father explained.

Scientists warn that while better water management could slow land sinking, nothing can stop the sea’s advance without bold global climate action. The Philippines’ adaptation plan isn’t expected until 2028, while promised UN climate funds remain stalled.

That leaves communities like Pugat on the frontline of the climate crisis, paying the price for pollution they did not cause. Each year, more homes are flooded, more roads rebuilt, and more families left to decide whether to stay and fight — or abandon their ancestral land.