'Monterrazas did not cause the flooding': Slater Young cites study to clear project role in Typhoon Tino devastation
Cebu-based entrepreneur and civil engineer Slater Young has spoken out regarding the supposed connection between Monterrazas de Cebu and the catastrophic flooding brought by Typhoon Tino in Cebu in November 2025.
The sloping 200-hectare high-end residential development is situated on the hillsides of Barangay Guadalupe in Cebu City. Young is one of the developers of the project.
In a video statement released on Facebook, Young stressed that an independent study conducted by scientists commissioned by the University of the Philippines "found that Monterrazas did not cause or worsen the flooding."
"What caused it was the sheer volume of rain," he noted. "Typhoon Tino dumped over a month's worth of rainfall on Cebu in one single day. and that amount of water would have flooded those areas regardless of what was or was not built."
The typhoon swept through Cebu on Nov. 4, 2025, leaving at least 26 people dead on just the first day.
Young added that the independent review found that Monterrazas "did not just meet the required standards for water management. We almost doubled them. And because of that, our detention ponds caught and held back up to 99.74% of the excess rainwater coming off our site, releasing it slowly instead of letting it all rush downhill all at once."
"The science does not just say we did not cause the flood. It says that the systems we have built in place helped reduce it," he added.
"This is not our conclusion; it is theirs. And this study is public. And anyone who wishes to go through it is free to do so. Several independent investigative bodies reviewed the same evidence and they have reached the same conclusion," Young said. He did not say, however, where the study was published.
The engineer then expressed his hope that the study's conclusion would, from then on, shape future discussions of the issue.
"We respect everyone's right to their own opinion. But we will not stay silent in the face of deliberate misinformation," he said.
Concluding his statement, Young expressed Cebu's need for "real solutions."
"And real solutions can only come from correctly identifying the real cause," he said, assuring his commitment to finding true solutions to Cebu's problems.
DENR lifts cessation order
In a statement released April 17, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources officially lifted the "cessation of operations order" it placed against Monterrazas in November 2025 after a comprehensive inter-agency investigation found the development committed environmental violations.
Included in the issue flagged by DENR was the alleged cutting of over 700 trees in the development site, a claim Monterrazas developers denied.
"We discovered that of the 745 trees listed in the 2022 inventory, only 11 remained. This constitutes a clear violation of Section 77 of the Forestry Code, and we are now building a case against the developer," DENR Region 7 Assistant Regional Director for Technical Services Eddie Llamedo told Radyo Pilipinas on Nov. 13, 2025.
On Friday, however, Environmental Management Bureau Region 7 Director John Edward Ang said the developer had already implemented seven corrective measures required under its Environmental Compliance Certificate. It had also settled penalty fees.
According to Ang, as reported by the Philippine News Agency, Monterrazas has now built and enhanced 23 detention ponds whose combined capacity is approximately 52,468 cubic meters.
The DENR investigation also verified "pond excavation, embankment stabilization, inlet and outlet control structures, [and] sediment traps." More stabilization measures include vegetative cover and erosion-control blankets.
"While the structural measures represent a meaningful step toward reducing flood risk, continued monitoring and maintenance are essential to ensure long-term effectiveness," said Ang.
DENR further instructed the Monterrazas group to submit as-built drawings, plans for operations and maintenance, as well as hydrologic monitoring data. The agency also ordered the development group to perform regular sediment removal, vegetation management, and inspections of structures.
