Sen. Risa Hontiveros on Friday pressed a local Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) official to explain how the Monterrazas de Cebu project managed to clear the agency’s regulations despite repeated warnings from stakeholders about the risks posed by the hillside development.
‘Who turned a blind eye in the DENR and DENR EMB (Environmental Management Bureau) to grant this Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC)?’ Hontiveros asked during the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing.
‘As to who turned a blind eye, I cannot answer that,’ replied Victoria Abrera, director of the DENR-EMB Central Visayas.
Abrera noted, however, that the ECC for Monterrazas underwent the full Environmental Impact Assessment process, and that an independent body recommended its approval.
‘I cannot accept that you have no answer,’ Hontiveros said. ‘Given what happened-its scale and its intensity-by now you should be gathering some answers.’
Hontiveros also pointed out that several people had raised red flags regarding the structural design of The Rise at Monterrazas.
‘They warned that this would endanger the environment around the development and the community at the bottom of that mountain,’ she said.
‘So now, after the storms and after the floods, it’s coming out that there were not just one but several-even many-violations,’ she added.
Celebrity engineer Slater Young, one of Monterrazas’ developers, has previously defended the project, saying it underwent over 300 design revisions to ensure environmental safety and structural stability.
The real estate project, located on the slopes of Barangay Guadalupe and unveiled in 2023, has drawn criticism online for its possible impact on flooding and landslide risks as Cebu bore the brunt of Typhoon Tino.
Tino reportedly killed 214 people – 138 of them in Central Visayas, where Cebu province is located – according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council’s situational report on Friday.