Just a few hundred meters away from the Ateneo is a fault line ripe for movement, capable of causing a 7.2 magnitude earthquake. A report from Bulatlat, an independent news organization, says that 35,000 people are estimated to die when such an earthquake occurs, and that three million more would need evacuation. According to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, it is certain that this earthquake will happen—the question is not ‘if,’ but ‘when.’

This fact is usually raised in discussions about SMDC’s Blue Residences, since the planned 42-story condominium will be constructed just 500 meters away from the fault line. In the occasion that the major earthquake happens, the sheer scale of the construction project is seen to not only put the lives of its prospective residents at risk, but also that of the surrounding residents and buildings.