Cebu panel recommends continued work at Monterrazas after flood review

A CEBU CITY technical panel has recommended allowing Mont Property Group’s 118-hectare Monterrazas de Cebu project to continue after reviewing its flood control measures, while saying the findings did not establish that the development had no role in nearby flooding. The city’s Technical Infrastructure Committee (TIC), through Resolution No. 2026-008 adopted on Sept. 8, approved a fact-finding report for submission to the Sangguniang Panlungsod, or City Council, according to a statement from Mont Property Group sent to reporters on Tuesday. The review followed concerns over flooding in nearby areas and directives from Cebu City Vice-Mayor Tomas Osmeña to investigate whether the development was contributing to flooding. According to the developer, a joint inspection conducted in July by the TIC, Department of Engineering and Public Works, Office of the Building Official, and Cebu City Environment and Natural Resources Office found that flood control measures had been installed at the project. In Catchment 01, or the Montelago sector, inspectors found that seven detention ponds had a combined capacity of 27,483.4 cubic meters, compared with a design requirement of 8,220 cubic meters, Mont Property Group said. The company said the detention ponds are intended to hold rainfall on-site and release water gradually into municipal drainage systems. The technical panel said it could not conclude that Monterrazas was solely or directly responsible for flooding in low-lying areas. It also said the findings did not establish that the development does not contribute, directly or indirectly, to flooding. The panel also cited drainage conditions outside the project, including neighboring developments without retention ponds, differences in the sizes of existing concrete culverts, and changes to a downstream drainage alignment by an adjacent development, according to Mont Property Group. The company said some culverts in the Guadalajara area narrow from 1,500 millimeters (mm) to 450 mm. “Mont Property Group will continue to ensure all of our projects comply with the government’s regulations. Our top priority has always been the welfare of our neighboring communities and making sure that we protect the environmental integrity of these shared spaces,” Mont Property Group General Manager Camille Bondad said. The review followed earlier regulatory actions involving the project. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) filed a criminal complaint against Mont Property Group on Dec. 3 last year for alleged violations of forestry laws. The DENR had cited the developer over 734 trees allegedly cut at the site and alleged violations of conditions under its amended environmental compliance certificate, including the absence of required water discharge permits. — Juliana Chloe A. Gonzales