Journal of Southeast Asian Earth Sciences, Vol. 6, No. 3/4, pp. 209-220, 1991 0743-9547/91 $3.1)0+ 0.

00
Printed in Great Britain Pergamon Press Ltd

The Philippine Mobile Belt: a complex plate boundary

CLAUDE RANGIN
Ddpartement de Grotectonique, URA 1315--CNRS, Universit6 Pierre et Marie Curie, T. 26, E 1, 4, Place Jussieu,
75252 Paris Crdex 05, France

(Received 31 August 1990; accepted for publication 5 May 1991)

A~tract--The Philippine archipelago is regarded as the product of the Late Cenozoic oblique collision of the
Philippine Plate with the thinned margin of Eurasia. The Philippine Mobile Belt is presented, mainly composed
by the Philippine arc, a Paleogene volcanic arc belonging to the Philippine Sea Plate and crustal fragments
belonging to the Eurasian Plate. Kinematic and geological data are presented for this collision history.

INTRODUCTION southern Philippine Trench, attributing it to the recent

origin of the trench. On the other hand, the paleo-
THE NORTH trending Philippine archipelago represents magnetic results of Cole et al. (1989) suggest that
one of the most complex tectonic zones of the West displacement along the Philippine Fault is of small
Pacific region, an area for convergence of the Eurasian magnitude.
Plate, the Philippine Sea Plate, and the Indo-Australian
Plate (Fig. 1). The collision zone between these plates
extends southward from the Philippines into the KINEMATICS OF THE EURASIA AND
Molucca Sea and Eastern Indonesia. PHILIPPINE SEA PLATES
Physiographically, the north trending Philippine
archipelago is bounded westward by the South China In the present global kinematic framework, the
Sea-Sulu Sea-Celebes Sea marginal basins, and to the Australian Plate moves toward the north at a constant
east by the intra-oceanic Philippine basins. The western rate of 8 cm/a (Stock and Molnar 1982). The Caroline
side of the archipelago is fringed by deep trenches and Pacific plates, poorly decoupled along the Mussau
(Manila, Negros and Cotobato) along which the S.E. Trench, move toward the Philippine Sea Plate and
Asia marginal basins are presently being subducted. Eurasia at a rate of about 10 cm/a (Seno 1977, Huchon
Seismicity along these eastward dipping subduction 1985). The Philippine Sea Plate also moves westward
zones is weak (Hamburger et al. 1983), intepreted by with respect to Eurasia about a remote pole located
Seno (1977) as indicating the waning of convergence close to the Philippine Sea-Pacific-Eurasian plate triple
along these trenches. In contrast along the eastern junction. Since the Eocene the Australian and Caroline
margin of the Philippine archipelago, the deep Philippine Sea plates have had a relatively constant motion with
Trench, devoid of accreted sediments, propagates north-
ward along the East Luzon Trough, a diffuse eastward
verging thrust zone extending to Taiwan (Lewis and
Hayes 1983). South of Mindanao, the Philippine Trench
ends abruptly in Halmahera (Hall 1987). The presence of
convergent zones on both sides of this north-trending
archipelago indicating a decoupling from the surround-
ing major plates, justifies the term of Philippine Mobile
Belt (PMB) proposed by Gervaiso (1971).
Intense deformation affects the PMB itself. The
sinistral Philippine Fault appears to behave as a zone
of decoupling where a component of the oblique con-
vergence between the Philippine Sea Plate and the PMB
is being accommodated. In such a case the other com-
ponent would be accommodated perpendicularly along
the Philippine Trench following the shear partitioning
model of Fitch (1972). This geometry implies that the
fault and the trench are coeval. Preliminary studies
along the central segment of the fault (Aurelio et al.
1990, Aurelio et al. 1991), suggest that the fault is
not older than Late Miocene. This age is supported by Fig. 1. Geodynamic setting of the Philippine archipelago. The shaded
area indicates the wide tectonic boundary between major plates
the earlier conclusion of Cardwell et al. (1983) who (Eurasian, Caroline, Philippine Sea and Indo-Australian plates).
described a steep dip in the seismic zone along the A = trace of Fig. 3, and B = trace of Fig. 4.

209
210 C. RANG[N
, T I i
\

-20°N -F
32
\+X
~
o D~
+ +
\
\
+
\
//
/ '%~o\
/ ,

/
/ 20

+
/
/ 43

/
/
/ t
/ /
÷ / /
+ / Jr- 43( k
/
• /
/
/ /
/ /
/ /
120°E -h~2

Fig. 2--caption opposite.

291 Z90 294 296

SW PANAY MAYON 292 447 295 446 445 AMANI B. 448 SHIKOKU BONIN .
,__ . . . . . . ~ ..... vK .............

PV i NE
~ AN 17 3OMA 12MA ,'

15

0 1 2 0 0 km
i , a J \

-~'=-~~ - _-- 3o

PALAU ~BONINI ?
DAITO KYUSHU GUAN
'A" f RIOGE ~ 296448
WEST PHILIPPINE BASIN 294 446
295
AMANI
PLATEAU
B ICOL
MINDORO
TABLAS

BICOL WEST PHILIPPINE BASIN PALAU

KYgSHU PACIFIC
SW OKI DAITO DAITO 1 NE
\t/ AMANI V/

Fig. 3--caption opposite.

 The Philippine Mobile Belt: a complex plate boundary 211

NNW DANGEROUS SULU ARC SSE I N CELEBES SEA N. ARM E. SULAWE81

SULA S
GROUNDS PALAWAN CAGAYAN ZAMBOANGA SULAWESI PLATFORM
771769 788 I

.t~".'d~+ + + + ~ / ~ \. "~,,"-~ ~.~. ~ \

/ / . \ "~ -~ \ \
i , / / \ \ ~'.~ ~.~ \ \

B _ i _ A A A A
PP
- -2 " -
A A I i I
t~ /~
Pt ~.T-S-- ~, ~- L~ ---- ;/1LI "A'
~,A '/,
j "" AAb
t,. ,',. t~
, ..lOMa
M -- ~d AAAA 14 ~ 14
14
Tv r///// 1. • • • •~ -leMa
26 20 Ma
o -T-S--- . . . . -30Ma
.
E
• 40
- --- N N °°
P• d ~ 767
Ks
d ,v~ CELEBES SEA
M Z U(?)

i NORTH ARM
Ma PANAY I SULAWESI
PALAWAN .TABL AS SULU BASIN
t
• ZAMBOANGA
CAGAYAN RIDGE MINDANAO i
( DAGUMA )

AUSTRALIAN
EURASIAN MARGIN MARGIN

Fig. 4. Simplified stratigraphic logs and cross section of the SE Asian marginal basins from the rifted margin of China
to the Sula Platform in Central Sulawesi. B, Ks, KiO, TS, OC, d, same legend as Fig. 3. ODP sites 767 to 771 (Leg 124)
are indicated. Black triangles represent Paleogene-Early Miocene volcanism (Cagayan ridge and North Sulawesi). Open
triangles represents Neogene volcanism on the Sulu Arc and North Arm of Sulawesi.

respect to Eurasia, which allows the determination of The West Philippine Basin, which forms the major
precise rotation poles and angles for different periods of part of the Philippine Sea Plate adjacent to the PMB,
the Cenozoic. was spreading in early Paleogene time along the Central
Basin Fault. According to Weissel (1981) and Mrozowski
The Philippine Sea Plate et al. (1982), spreading initiated around 45 Ma (An 20 or
possibly 21) and ceased around 39 Ma (An 18). DSDP
Because the Philippine Sea Plate is surrounded on drilling in this basin has confirmed the age of the
all sides by subduction zones, it is difficult to link the magnetic anomalies (Karig 1975, Leg 59 Scientific Party
motion of this plate with the major plates through 1978) and has clearly demonstrated that volcanic activity
time. None of the published results can account for stopped along the Daito-Oki Daito Ridges when
the fast northward drift of that plate through most incipient spreading in the basin began (Fig. 3). The small
of the Tertiary, documented by the paleomagnetic data Daito basin was opened in Early Eocene time, and can
(Louden 1977, Koyama 1983, Hirooka et al. 1986). It is be considered as an aborted basin which developed
thus probable that the Philippine Sea Plate rotated within the remnant Daito-Oki Daito volcanic arc. As
clockwise since Early Cenozoic time about 40 ° (Karig noted by Weissel (1981) there is no counterpart to the
1975, Klein and Kobayashi 1980, Ranken et al. 1984) as Oki Daito Ridge on the SW flank of the basin, but the
shown in Fig. 2. young age of the Philippine Trench suggests that part

Fig. 2. Kinematic diagram showing the successive positions of key areas from 0 to 43 Ma, illustrating displacement of
Philippine Sea (PH), Caroline (CAR) and Australia (AUS) plates with respect to Eurasia.
Fig. 3. Simplified stratigraphic logs of the west Philippine Basin and its SW and NE margins, compiled from dredging and
DSDP results as well as on land data in the central Philippines. Black triangles represents Tertiary volcanic arcs built along
the Eurasian plate margin, while open triangles represents arc volcanism related to the history of the Philippine Sea Plate.
B = metamorphic basement; OC = oceanic crust; K10 = Early Cretaceous Ophiolites; Ks = Late Cretaceous clastics;
Kv = Early and Late Cretaceous volcanics of the Bicol Peninsula (basement of the Philippine Arc); TS = tertiary sediments;
d = disconformity. Upper section from Panay to Bonin Islands illustrates the present geologic setting, meanwhile lower
section is a tentative reconstruction of the same section in Early Eocene time.
212 C. RANGIN

of the PMB was the active arc for opening of this basin
(as shown in Fig. 3). In the Philippine archipelago,
randomly distributed Cenozoic volcanism is coeval with
the time of opening of the West Philippine Basin forming
the Philippine Arc, which have collided in Miocene time
with the Palawan block. These volcanic arc sequences
crop out in Luzon, the Visayas, Bicol, and Central
Eastern Mindanao.

The Eurasian Plate

Opening of the South China Sea can be accounted

for by rotating Sundaland with a pole located in the
Andaman Sea (Le Pichon 1988, Rangin et al. 1990a).
This model is based upon the observation that major
left-lateral strike-slip fault zones which accommodate
the extrusion of continental blocks (Tapponnier et al.
1986) fit small circles about this rotation pole (Fig. 2).
Extrusion and related stretching in the Eurasian Plate
margin can be explained by impingement of India upon
Asia and trench pull along the Java subduction zone,
pinned to the west. This model also requires the eastern
margin of Eurasia to have been a free boundary during
opening of the South China Sea. Reorientation and
Fig. 5. Paleokinematic reconstruction of the Philippine-Indonesia
decrease in spreading rate in this basin around 20 Ma region around 15Ma when incipient collision was active between
(Pautot et al. 1990) indicate that the boundary con- the Philippine Arc and the rifted margin of Eurasia. Large arrows
ditions along the Eurasian Plate have changed at that show the speculated relative motion of the Philippine Sea and Indo-
Australian plates, and double arrows dying spreading in the South
time. China and Suluseas. 1 = SE Asiamarginalbasins; 2 = IndianOcean;
The Celebes Sea, opened earlier (Weissel 1980, 3 = Philippine Sea Plate; S = Sula platform; Bu = Buru Island; Se =
Silver and Rangin 1991), was interpreted (Rangin et al. Seram; IJ = Irian Jaya; TI = Timor;NS = North Sulawesi;SB = Sulu
Basin.
1990a) as having opened in the same tectonic framework
as the South China Sea, i.e. by rifting of the Eurasian
margin. The same scenario has been adopted for the
15 Ma. This interpretation does not leave room for the
proto-South China Sea. Such an opening would extend
presence in the Mobile Belt of exotic blocks which
the southern boundary of the Eurasian Plate down to
cannot be sourced into these two major plates. We shall
Sulawesi, where the northernmost fragments of Aus-
now try to test this hypothesis.
tralian origin are postulated to exist (Hamilton 1979).
This hypothesis was not contradicted by results of
the ODP drilling in the Celebes and Sulu seas (Rangin
et al. 1990), and is supported by comparison of geologi- THE COMPOSITION OF THE
cal data all around the SE Asian basins. Figure 4 PHILIPPINE MOBILE BELT,
summarizes the stratigraphy of these basins and their AND ITS TECTONIC DEVELOPMENT
margins. High grade metamorphic basement sliced with
Mesozoic ophiolites is present in North Palawan, the In the PMB, tracing the tectonic contact between the
Sulu archipelago, and the North Arm of Sulawesi. Arc Philippine arc (belonging to the Philippine Sea Plate)
volcanism present along the Cagayan and Sulu ridges is and the rifted margin of Eurasia, is difficult because this
not older than 22 Ma (Fig. 4) (Rangin and Silver 1991). contact is obliterated by later strike-slip faulting. We
This volcanism is coeval or even younger than the Sulu have however attempted to trace this contact proceeding
Sea. This basin was opened during closure of the proto- from south to north starting in the Northern Molucca
South China Sea (Fig. 5). Consequently arc volcanism Sea where collision was initiated only a few M.y. ago
along the Cagayan-Sulu ridges is coeval with incipient (Moore and Silver 1982).
closure of the SE marginal basins, a process which is
active since Middle Miocene time. Only the Daguma The Molucca Sea and Mindanao island
Range in Eastern Mindanao yields older magmatic ages
(Pubellier et al. 1991, Bellon and Rangin 1991). According to Hawkins et al. (1985), the collision
Consequently we propose a very simple geodynamic of the Halmahera arc (an interpreted fragment of the
setting for a model where the Philippine Mobile Belt Philippine arc) and the Sangihe arc (the northeastward
results from oblique convergence of the Philippine Sea extension of the North Arm of Sulawesi, i.e. the Eura-
Plate with the rifted margin of Eurasia. Figure 5 depicts sian margin) progressed northward into the Philippine
the initial oblique collision of these two plates around Fault in Mindanao (Fig. 6). The Agusan-Davao basin
 The Philippine Mobile Belt: a complex plate boundary 213

118 123 128 133

~ Morllinoloceanicliasins
Opened Withinthe Eurasianplato

o
i i Fragments of Eurasian affinity
~ riqlments of possible
Eerusien affinity
I ragments of Philippine
see plate affinity
20 0 15 ~
Active convergent zone or
intraplcte Thrusting

~ps "pl Uooctive Thrust zone

"f~'f
• Major strike slip fault zone

tl~ " C hi na '.selai:.".,:.."....!

10"

Philippine Sea
""

+ +: ,,
..O5o
° ,'7
#7/ =u

. "" /~.".:.'::::.C e "Sea..."'.L"':/

123

Fig. 6. Structural sketch map of the Philippine Mobile Belt bounded on both sides by active subduction and collision zones.
Blocks belonging either to the Philippine Sea Plate or the Eurasian Plate are indicated. SMO = Sierra Madre Oriental;
A = Angat; Z = Zambales; CCI = Central Cordillera of Luzon; B = Bicol; Ca = Catanduanes; P = Panay; M = Mindoro;
C = Cebu; Be = Bahai; Co = Pacific Cordillera of Mindanao; S = Surigao; Pu = Pujada Peninsula; CCM = Central
Cordillera of Mindanao; D = Daguma Range; Zb = Zamboanga.

is therefore regarded by Hawkins et al. (1985) as post- Peninsula represents a portion of the old continental
dating this collision (successor basin). This former suture margin of Eurasia, owing to the presence of gneisses,
zone (now the Philippine Fault), could theoretically schists and meta-ophiolites similar to those present in
extend up to southern Luzon. However, the similar North Palawan, Borneo and North Sulawesi (Santos
Cenozoic stratigraphy on both sides of the Agusan- 1953, Antonio 1972). Arc volcanic rocks deposited on
Davao basin (Pubellier et al. 1991) and the youthful age this basement have been dated Middle Miocene on basis
of the central segment of the Philippine Fault (Aurelio of nannofossils and foraminifera (personal unpublished
et el. 1990, Aurelio et al. 1991) do not support such an field work data). In addition we tentatively assign an
interpretation. In Mindanao the tectonic contact be- Eurasian margin origin to the Daguma Range and the
tween the Sangihe and Halmahera arcs (Cotobato shear southern peninsula of Mindanao. There, large grano-
zone) lies to the west of the Mindanao Central Range, dioritic batholiths extend down to North Sulawesi. This
in the Cotobato Basin, and crosses into the north of the interpretation is supported by recent subduction along
Zamboanga Peninsula (Fig. 6, Pubellier et al. 1991). the Cotobato Trench, which dies out southward along
West of this Cotobato Basin shear zone, the Zamboanga the eastern side of the Celebes Sea. East of the Cotobato
214 C. RANGIN

122 °
125 °

I I
BURUANGA
PENINSULA

• ".ig~ ~ -
"' ' D
+7< ~"
> <
< <
•
. %" .'~< ~ <
.' ~). O
O
I . . (~

X "
," % ~,

+
%

/ • . .
.%
.~

Thrust
Strike-slip fault
Plioceneand Quaternarysediments

'--~Mt Baloy l
- ~ Valderrama Volcanic arcUnits

"i(J Pampanan

I|o-ilo Basin

Olistotrome

Ophialltes

~ Intrusivebodies
BuruangaUnit (pre-Eocene)

Fig. 7. Structural sketch map of Panay Island (Rangin et aL 1991)•

Basin shear zone, the Central and Pacific cordilleras of a volcanic sequence dated at 20 Ma (K/Ar whole rock
separated by the Agusan-Davao sedimentary basin analysis). These volcanics were deposited on a schistose
exhibit similar stratigraphies with the uppermost portion ultramafic sequence, blanketed by Eocene limestones.

Fig. 9. Structural sketch map and cross section of Mindoro Island (Marchadier and Rangin 1990). (1) Late Miocene to
recent sedimentary sequence on the San Jos6 platform; (2) Oligocene-Early Miocene sediments of the San Jos6 platform;
(3) Middle Eocene and Jurassic sediments of the San Jos6 platform; (4) Luzon Arc, recent volcanoes; (5) Middle Oligocene
ophiolites; (6) East Mindoro basins (Late Miocene to present); (7) Oligocene-Early Miocene Cagayan Arc; (8) Middle
Eocene elastics; (9) metamorphic basement. Legend for section. 1:1 + 6 on map; 2 : 2 on map; 3: preTertiary basement;
4 : 5 on map; 5 : 7 on map; 6: units not exposed; 7:7 on map; ~ot, ~P2: major contacts; q~ = present decollement into the
Manila Trench. Black triangles represent the unexposed Philippine Arc; d: major disconformities.
 The Philippine Mobile Belt: a complex plate boundary 215
S
N
PAMPANAN ILO-ILO BASIN
lkm-z 8URUANGA
DALANAS CUBAY (1)

I ' ~ ~ .~.'.. " .;. .~ ~-~',~--.~ ..... --..----- . . . . ,.~

~ IL , ,, ),~ %~% -1 "1'4 A ,4 ,'I

25kin ~1~ ill IP" " ~ ",,, ~

I%O./ etlOCeNE IO ~ t (Apdo Fro.) IO'.Z--*4 I t

I£~:~- - ' ~ * ' ~ ~'-~'--~-~**_~_-_~-_ ~ - - ~ ........... I-----I
Ilasalts Limestones I ~ Basalts,clastics 10 Mq i • ~ • ~ Volcanic.clastics I ~ I

17~l,1.4.j/.~I r ¢, L£ ~,--L~ Early-Middle Mi. . . . . JC.A ~ i-- ~ I

t.~'...o'lJ'i ..... i .... 20Ma I~ ^ /k~ ~ - - d _ N N S-15 Ma )~. "~1

Sand . . . . . . . Silt . . . . . I~ 5 . ~ O",, .......

BUflUANGA UNIT ~--'-~==---) ( Lumbuyon Fro.) I " O o~Barremo-Aptian
..... , ~ -..=.\ o,~.., .... ~ :,,':;:.n.
M .T BALOY UNIT } A "~ r
VALDERRAMA UNIT I , ,"..--.,_
I A^ / Pomponan
vofcanlcs

ILO-]LO UNIT
Fig. 8. Cross section of Panay Island.

+
LUZON N

., ~ ~ \,,~.
\\
SOUTH CHINA SEA
B~
"N ,a~

CHINA
SEA PHILIPPINE
\
Q" COB l X ",x \ ,~
Active Thrust
|
~ vL~_.ret,.r-" Miocene Thrust
Fnult
~ " Fold nx is

WES T EAST
E31 ~4 ~6
SEA 4~C~Mind E32 m5 ~7
[]3 o
~8
25 50kin
l , , ~ 9
o SEA
i ii i i

W MINDORO E /IfW TABLAS SE

A d B C

Y4 'fz

Fig. 9 - - c a p t i o n opposite.
216 C. RANGIN

The Visayas: the central part o f the P M B is topped by Early Miocene carbonates. These carbon-
ates represent the initial sedimentation of the Ilo-ilo
North of the Zamboanga Peninsula the Cotobato basin which became later dominantly clastic. This basin
Basin shear zone connects with the Negros Trench, along remained relatively undeformed and its stratigraphy is
which the Sulu Basin is presently subducting (Fig. 6). similar to that of the Agusan Davao Basin in Mindanao
This contact merges northward in southern Panay (Pubellier et al. 1991). Lead isotopic studies conducted
Island along the Pitogo Thrust (United Nations 1983) (by Mukasa et al. 1987) on the Panay Paleogene volcanic
separating distinct terranes (Rangin et al. 1991). rocks sequence, favours the hypothesis of an intra-
In the Antique Range of Western Panay (Fig. 7), oceanic origin for this volcanic arc. We think the Ilo-ilo
three diachronous island arc sequences are piled toward volcanic arc sequence is part of the Philippine Arc
the northwest against the Palawan platform, a drifted formerly attached to the Philippine Sea Plate. The
continental fragment of mainland China (Holloway Pampanan Thrust is the tectonic contact between the
1982). volcanic arc and the Valderrama Arc, a fragment of
The lowermost unit includes a Late Oligocene-Early the Sulu Archipelago belonging to the Eurasian margin.
Miocene island arc, indicating the cessation of volcanic North of Panay, the contact of the Philippine Arc with
activity around 15 Ma. It is conformably covered by the Eurasian terranes presently amalgamated to the
Middle Miocene carbonates and clastics (Mayos Form- Philippine Mobile Belt (Fig. 6) is difficult to trace,
ation) of Middle and Late Miocene age (Fig. 8). A considering the numerous splays of the Philippine fault.
similar waning of volcanic activity was demonstrated The Philippine Arc exposed in Panay (volcanic base-
for the Cagayan ridge during ODP Leg 124 (Rangin et ment of the Ilo-ilo basin) can be confidently traced north-
al. 1990); Mount Baloy could be the emerged equivalent eastward in Masbate island. Here Paleogene volcanic
of the Cagayan ridge. In the Buruanga Peninsula (Fig. and plutonic rocks rest disconformably on pelagic sedi-
7), this island arc sequence is considerably uplifted and ments and basalts interpreted as the uppermost part of
Early Miocene intrusives (Bellon and Rangin 1991) are a Mesozoic ophiolitic complex (BMG 1981). Offshore,
injected into the high grade metamorphic rocks, com- central Masbate, a thick slightly deformed sedimentary
parable to similar rocks exposed in North Palawan. basin sequence, dated Late Oligocene-Early Middle
This intrusive-metamorphic association suggests the Miocene at its base, rests on this volcanic basement.
Cagayan-Mount Baloy volcanic arc was built on a However, in eastern Masbate, along the Philippine
continental basement, a drifted fragment of the Eurasian Fault, younger volcanic arc sequences dated up to 12 Ma
Plate. On basis of unpublished seismic profiles the (Lamon andesite: JICA 1990) could be interpreted as
Negros Trench can be traced on shore in the Cubay and fragments of the Sulu Arc as the Valderrama Unit in
Dalanas rivers (Fig. 8), suggesting the Cagayan-Mount Panay.
Baloy island arc sequence is present both along the inner The Cagayan volcanism was traced to eastern
and outer wall of the trench. This island arc sequence is Mindoro island and Tablas island (Marchadier and
in the process of being incorporated into the PMB. Rangin 1990). In Tablas, andesites, tufts and pyroclastics
The middle unit of this tectonic pile, the Valderrama dated 18-20 Ma (K/Ar, whole rock analysis) rest dis-
Unit, is characterized by calc-alkalic volcanism and conformably on a metamorphic basement. This volcan-
volcanic sedimentary sequences of Middle Miocene age ism stopped around 16 Ma as did the Cagayan Ridge
(Bellon and Rangin 1991). This volcanic sequence lies volcanism.
disconformably on highly sheared Mesozoic ophiolites The tectonic contact between the Philippine Arc
(Florendo 1981, United Nations 1983) and m61anges, (Panay-Masbate) and the Cagayan Arc (Tablas) is not
and was radiometrically dated 14-10 Ma (Betlon and exposed. However, SE dipping thrusts can be observed
Rangin 1991). The volcanic activity of the Valderrama on industrial seismic profiles in the Sibuyan Sea below
unit initiated when the Mount Baloy volcanic activity the Pliocene unconformity. This suture zone is truncated
stopped at 15 Ma. A correlative timing of the volcanic northward by the NW trending Verde Passage Fault
activity was recently dated in the Zamboanga Peninsula (Figs 9 and 10).
(unpublished fieldwork), where it also rests discon- In Mindoro Island (Fig. 9), the Cagayan volcanic arc
formably on ophiolites which are sheared together with sequence is thrust over the San Jos6 platform, a fragment
a metamorphic basement. A similar assemblage of rocks of the North Palawan block recently accreted to the
including m~langes can be found all along the Sulu Manila Trench inner wall (Rangin et al. 1988). This
Archipelago in Tawi Tawi island and southern Sabah oblique collision was interpreted by Sarewitz and Karig
(Rangin et al. 1990b). We interpret the Valderrama unit (1986) as an old strike-slip fault zone.
as a fragment of the Sulu archipelago, thrust on the The San Jos6 platform is characterized by Eocene-
Cagayan ridge after complete subduction of the SE Sulu Middle Miocene clastics and carbonates. The tectonic
basin in Late Miocene time. contact between the arc and platform is marked by
The uppermost unit of the Antique range, the Ilo-ilo dismembered Oligocene ophiolites (Rangin et al. 1985)
unit, overthrust westward the Valderrama unit along that can be interpreted as the suture for the proto-South
the Pitogo (or Pampanan) Thrust (United Nations China Sea.
1983). The calc-alkalic volcanism of this unit was dated Oblique collision of the Philippine arc with North
latest Oligocene-Early Miocene (Rangin et al. 1991) and Palawan, a rifted fragment of China, has forced the
 The Philippine Mobile Belt: a complex plate boundary 217

This age is also the age for incipient sedimentation in

other basins of the PMB (Agusan Davao and Ilo-ilo
basins).
Interpretation is even more difficult for the Central
Cordillera. The simplest way is to consider the volcanic
arc sequences of this range as part of the Philippine Arc.
In this case the tectonic boundary with the Eurasian
plate would be the Manila Trench, connecting south-
ward with the Verde Passage-Sibuyan Sea Fault. The
Manila Trench would therefore have been active during
the major part of the Tertiary, supported by the rela-
tively continuous magmatic arc activity in Luzon (Wolfe
1981, Stephan et al. 1986). However, Maleterre (1989)
has recognized two well-constrained periods of magma-
tisim in the Central Cordillera of Luzon (32-16 Ma, and
13-0 Ma) with a significant hiatus of volcanic activity
during the Miocene. The youngest volcanic arc activity
period is marked by alternating intense volcanic activity
and tectonic transpressive pulses, apparently controlled
by the eastward subduction of the Manila Trench
(Maleterre 1989). This is in good agreement with the
estimated Early and Middle Miocene ages for incipient
subduction along the Manila Trench (Lewis and Hayes
1984), calculated on basis of sedimentaton rates into the
Luzon fore-arc. Contrarily the oldest magmatism was
-.4..5 interpreted both by Wolfe (1981) and Maleterre (1989)
as the result of a westward plunging subduction zone.
Fig. 10. Structuralsketchmap of the CentralwesternPhilippines.The
Cagayan Ridge is wrapped around the North Palawan block during The trench would have been located along the eastern
collision of the Philippine Arc with this rifted continental margin. flank of Luzon. In that case, the trench would have been
(1) North Palawan-San Jos6 sedimentary platform; (2) Cagayan quite far away from the magmatic arc. An alternative
volcanicarc; (3) MiddleOligoceneOphiolites;(4) activethrustingand
subduction zone; (5) Miocenethrusting; (6) strike-slip fault. hypothesis would be to consider the Central Cordillera
as the juxtaposition of two types of terranes, the Philip-
pine Arc lying to the east and Eurasian affinity terranes
island arcs developed along this rifted continental on the west (Fig. 6). The Abra River Fault described by
margin (Cagayan and Sulu) to be wrapped around the Maleterre (1989) would be then the suture zone between
northeastern tip of the North Palawan block as shown two facing subduction zones, as is presently the case
in Fig. 10. The former contact described above has in the Molucca Sea (Silver and Moore 1978). Therefore,
recently jumped westward into the North Palawan the Abra Fault Zone would be the equivalent of the
block. West of Mindoro (Fig. 9), the southern tip of Cotobato Basin shear zone in Mindanao.
the Manila Trench enters the drifted continental margin The Southern Cordillera in Luzon (Angat, Fig. 6)
of the South China Sea. The trench offshore Mindoro, considered to be left laterally displaced by 80-100 km
documented by Seabeam data (Rangin et al. 1988), with respect to the Central Cordillera (Stephan et al.
enters the island in its southern part, where active thrust- 1986), could also represent a portion of the Eurasian
ing and folding can be observed. These observations margin. Consequently the Zambales ophiolites, com-
attest to the recent incorporation of an Eurasian conti- posite in nature (Hawkins and Evans 1983), overlain by
nental fragment to the inner wall of the trench, and into the Central Valley Basin, could have been developed
the Philippine Mobile Belt. in a back arc position with respect to the Southern
Cordillera. These ophiolites are coeval with the Celebes
The case o f Luzon Sea floor drilled during Leg ODP 124 (Rangin et al.
1990). The ophiolite then can be interpreted as a frag-
Tracing the boundary between the terranes in Luzon ment of the Celebes Sea floor transported northward
is difficult and at best speculative, owing to the presence during oblique collision of the Philippine Arc with the
of numerous splays of the Philippine fault particularly rifted margin of Eurasia. In this hypothesis the Central
in the north. In northeastern Luzon, Late Oligocene Cordillera and Southern Cordillera of Luzon would
carbonates and overlying clastics fill the Cagayan have been developed along the Eurasian active margin.
Basin, whose deposits onlap westward on the Central
Cordillera and eastward onto the Sierra Madre Oriental.
CONCLUSIONS
In the Cagayan Basin the volcanic basement was reached
by exploration wells, revealing that initial extension was Considerations of the kinematic and geological data
marked by alkalic volcanism dated 25 Ma (Knittel 1983). on the Philippine archipelago considerably simplify the
218 C. RANG1N
60 N 60" N
l
o,,,oc.... '. * Early Miocene "~ ~ . ~
.*- 32 Ma x ~ + =r - j x 20 Ma ~
/

x ~ ~---'~ ~ - d ~ - - ~ / 10" N x 40" N

~
/,./"4 -

20" N

f . ,~ zo"s 20" S

tO" S 40" S
(

~ ISLAND ARC ~ SUBDUCTED L • LUZON D : D A I T O RIDGE

TERRANES NOT ISLAND ARC B = BICOL OD = OK! DAITO RIDGE
SUBDUCTED PHS = PHILIPPINE PK = PALAU KYUSHU RIDGE ,
SEA PLATE O = OGASAWARA BONIN RIDGE
S • SHIKOKU BASIN

Fig. 11. Paleogeodynamic reconstruction of the Western Pacific region in Oligocene and Early Miocene time showing the
progressive impingement of the intraoceanic Philippine Sea plate with the eastern margin of Eurasia. SCS: South China
Sea; CS: Celebes Sea; I: Eurasian Plate; II: Pacific Plate; III: Australia.

history of this region. The Philippine Sea Plate is inter- where an important mass of continental crust (the North
preted as an intraoceanic microplate which collided Palawan block) impinged with the Philippine Arc. In
obliquely with the rifted margin of Eurasia (Fig. 11). contrast, in Mindanao and Luzon, the oblique collision
Incipient clockwise rotation of this microplate is is mainly accommodated by strike-slip faulting. In both
registered by the waning of volcanic arc activity along islands shortening is also rapidly accommodated along
the Philippine Arc which fringed this plate to the south. convergent zones newly developed within the Eurasian
This movement was counterbalanced by a probable plate: the Manila and Cotobato trenches.
increase of subduction along the Palau-Kyushu island Consequently, all along the archipelago, the deform-
arc to the north. These activities led to the development ation front tended to migrate westward favouring the
of the Parece-Vela and Shikoku basins and incipient incorporation of Eurasian crustal fragments into the
sedimentation in the Bonin forearc basin (Taylor et al. Philippine Arc, the result being, the Philippine Mobile
1990). Belt. That is particularly evident (Fig. 6) in Panay Island
Docking of this microplate along the margin of where island arc fragments are amalgamated to the
Eurasia (Fig. 11) did not immediately modify the Philippine Arc and in Mindoro Island where the plate
development of the SE Asian marginal basins. In boundary recently jumped westward, capturing a piece
Early Miocene time, coeval closure of the proto-South of the North Palawan block. With incipient subduction
China Sea, reorientation in the spreading axis of the along the Philippine Trench, and probably waning of
South China Sea, and opening of the Sulu Sea all convergence along the eastern margin of the PMB,
indicate that the Eurasia eastern margin was no longer massive suturing of a whole island arc to the Eurasian
a free boundary. This was also the time for the first Plate was achieved.
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