Where are the Kilometer 0s in the Philippines?

There are two articles already written about this topic in Penfires, and today I find myself writing another one. Walang katapusang KM 0 haha.

In case you don’t know yet, the Philippines’ main KM 0 is the one that you can find in LUNETA, across the Rizal Statue. The actual KM 0 reference point is the FLAGPOLE in Rizal Park, but to make the KM 0 more prominent, the government built a marker across the road.

The Luneta Kilometer Zero marker is the main one since it’s the one located in the capital city of the Philippines, which is of course, Manila.

Is this the only KM 0 in the Philippines? NOPE, there are others.

There are more markers in island-provinces and one in Mindanao. The KM 0 in Luneta is being used as reference point for Luzon.  Cebu’s KM 0 is in the Cebu Capitol grounds, beside the flagpole. The big island of Mindanao uses the KM 0 in Marawi City as the reference point for all the provinces in Mindanao.

I really don’t know the exact location of the other KM 0 in the country. I am assuming that the major islands have one. The top 10 biggest islands of the Philippines (from largest)

• Luzon Island – Rizal Park, Manila
• Mindanao Island – Marawi City, Lanao del Sur
• Samar Island
• Negros Island
• Palawan Island  
• Panay Island –  Arroyo Fountain in front of the Old Provincial Capitol
• Mindoro Island
• Leyte Island – in Tacloban capitol grounds
• Cebu Island – in Cebu capitol grounds
• Bohol Island

Per Cathy, who left a comment in Penfires original KM 0 post, there is a KM 0 in Bataan. The starting point for the Bataan Death March. (Thanks Cathy for the added info!)

I’ll try to research some more on the locations and will update this post as I come across info.

If you are from these island-provinces, and not in landlocked Luzon and Mindanao, can I ask a favor? 🙂 If you can locate a KM 0 marker in your place, can you please take a picture and send it over sa penfires@gmail.com? Pretty pleaseeee….

So we can update this post for those interested in markers and reference points too! Baka puedeng maging part ng bucketlist din ng mga travelers and adventuristas! 🙂

What is the use of KM 0?

A kind soul shared this info (salamat again Jai!) he learned from his geodetic engineer lolo:

Kilometer Zero is the reference point of every road, building, lot, and any structure to be built in an island. This is their reference point. Reference Zero. All measurement, all dimension of these buildings and road are measured from this point. How do they do this? By triangulation measurement.

Errr, how to do triangulation measurement is beyond my powers, so please don’t ask how hehe

Philippine Road Markers

For those who travel a lot, KM 0 markers and other road markers gives us info. See picture:

The road markers on the highways can be read this way:

1. The top number indicates the distance from the island’s KM 0 and where the road marker is.

My picture above was taken at the foot of the Mactan-Mandaue Bridge. That exact site is 10 kms away from the KM 0 marker of Cebu, which you can find in the capitol building of the province.

2. The single (sometimes two) letter indicates the next major town or city.

On the picture the letter is “L” because the closest next city is “Lapu – Lapu City”.

3. The number below the letter indicates how far a particular road marker is to the city or town center.

Standing by that road marker, I was 1 kilometer away from the city center. The city center is usually where you can find the town hall or city hall, and the official town/city flagpole.

Now, what if I am already in Lapu – Lapu City center standing beside the marker, what will it show? The info will be something like this (sorry I don’t have a picture):

KM 11

L

0

Here’s another example, this is the Kilometer 0 of Cebu. The “T” and “10” you see on one side means that the next city (to the right) is “Talisay” which is “10 kms” away from the location of the marker. The other side of the marker indicates “M” and “7” for “Mandaue” which is “7 kilometers away”.

These markers are teaching us something, right? 🙂

I’ve only been to three KM 0s, the one in Rizal Park, the one in Cebu Capitol grounds, and the one in Batanes. I would love a pic in Marawi’s KM 0 marker, maybe someday… this picture is from Wikimapia.org site.

Heyyyy, if reference markers fascinate you, a good place to visit is Marinduque. They have a marker there that signifies the center of the Philippines! Yes! Ang gitna! It’s called the Luzon Datum of 1911.

By the way, buses konduktor and some passengers also use the road marker. Notice some passengers will say “sa 89 lang” or  “sa 63” etc, it tells the konduktor that the passenger will get-off the bus just before or after a particular marker.

Hope you enjoy reading this post. Watch out for those road markers, and especially KM 0s when you travel! 🙂

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