Channels have been blasted through the coral reefs surrounding the islands Batan, Sabtang and Itbayat in the Batanes group, where the annual loss of life had previously been great, owing to the occurrence of sudden storms which often made it impossible for people to return to their towns through the surf. The port of Pandan, in Ilocos Sur, has been improved by means of a stone revetment twenty-nine hundred seventy-five feet in length along the north bank of the Abra River, thus maintaining the channel in one position and affording vastly better means of loading and discharging cargo for the important town of Vigan. A self-propelling combination snag boat, pile driver and dredge for the improvement of the great Cagayan River has been built, and is now in operation on that stream.
Very numerous other works of repair and construction have been carried out. Some 80 surveys have been made in minor ports to determine the feasibility of improvements, and in many cases plans have been prepared for proposed work.
The Spaniards had devoted much time and study to a project for coast illumination. At the outbreak of the insurrection in 1896 they had twenty-eight lights, fourteen of which were flashing and fourteen fixed minor lights, while four additional stations were under construction. Then all work was stopped, and when systematic inspection was made by American lighthouse engineers five years later, extensive repairs were found to be necessary. The repairs were made as promptly as possible, and new construction then began. To-day there are a hundred forty-five lights in operation, and the waters of the Philippines are among the best lighted in the world. One hundred and eleven buoys of various classes are being maintained.
The following table shows the progress made in the construction of lighthouses:—
| Fiscal Year | Light-houses in Operation |
| 1902 | 57 |
| 1903 | 66 |
| 1904 | 76 |
| 1905 | 89 |
| 1906 | 105 |
| 1907 | 117 |
| 1908 | 129 |
| 1909 | 139 |
| 1910 | 143 |
| 1911 | 142 |
| 1912 | 145 |
| 1913[4] | 145 |
In all nearly $7,000,000 have been expended in the improvement of ports and harbours, and about $750,000 in the construction of lights.
At the time of the American occupation, knowledge of the waters of the archipelago was in a most unsatisfactory state. There was not even an accurate chart of Manila Bay. Navigating officers followed certain well-known trade routes which experience had shown to be safe, but did not dare to leave them. Uncharted dangers were soon discovered at Iloilo and in other important ports, and the necessity for a systematic survey of the waters became immediately apparent.
On September 6, 1901, the Bureau of Coast and Geodetic Surveys was organized. The work is conducted under a joint agreement such that it is supervised by the superintendent of coast and geodetic surveys at Washington, who is represented in the Philippines by an officer called the director of coast surveys. The latter reports to the head of the insular government so far as concerns the expenditure of funds furnished by that government, which has the power of approval over his assignment to duty. There is a division of expenses between the two governments. The United States has paid approximately fifty-five per cent of the total cost, and the insular government has paid the balance.
The Bureau is engaged in a systematic survey of the coasts, harbours and waters of the Philippine Islands and of the topography of the shore-line. It determines positions astronomically and by triangulation, investigates reported dangers to navigation, and observes tides, currents and the magnetic elements. Five steamers are now engaged in this very important work. It is estimated that fifty-four per cent of the surveys of the coast and adjacent waters have already been completed. When one remembers that the coast-line of the Philippines is longer than that of the continental United States, one realizes that this is a remarkable achievement.
The Bureau has published one hundred twenty-four charts covering the entire boundaries of the islands, and six volumes of sailing directions which are kept constantly up to date by additions whenever new facts of importance to mariners are ascertained. The greater part of the information thus made available represents results obtained by the Bureau, but these are supplemented by the most reliable data that can be obtained from other sources.