FORMER Cebu City Planning and Development Office (CPDO) director Joseph Michael Espina warned on Monday, Nov. 24, 2025, that the controversial Monterrazas de Cebu development now faces an immediate landslide threat. The work stoppage order by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has left large, excavated sections of the mountainside exposed and vulnerable.
Espina explained to SunStar Cebu that the project had already carved out a significant portion of the mountainside, yet no stabilization measures are currently in place. If the terrain remains unattended, it is prone to landslides.
“So there has to be interventions or mitigating measures now to address the open areas there. So I don’t know if they will be allowed to cover it up. I don’t know how they can do that,” Espina said.
The threat is compounded by incoming weather. The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) reported that tropical depression Verbena is expected to enter Cebu Island by midnight Monday, bringing another cycle of intense, erratic rainfall.
The project has drawn intense public and regulatory attention due to reported severe flooding in Barangay Guadalupe and adjacent Cebu City barangays, which the development allegedly contributed to. Regulatory action was prompted by events like typhoon Tino on Nov. 4, when a viral video surfaced showing swift runoff water and a damaged water retention pond at the site.
Following the incidents, the DENR issued a notice of violations and a stoppage order to Monterrazas de Cebu on Nov. 12, effectively stopping all operations. The Cebu City Government and the DENR launched separate investigations. The matter was also brought up at the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on flood control anomalies on Nov. 14.
In response to the controversy, the Barangay Council of Guadalupe issued a resolution calling for a technical inspection of the development’s retention ponds and drainage systems, urging a full probe by City Hall, DENR and the Mines and Geosciences Bureau.
Espina noted that Monterrazas currently has eight existing detention ponds, designed to store runoff water to control flooding, with developers planning to increase the total to 11 units. The project encompasses a 200-hectare lot, intended for green areas, commercial areas and residential use.
He confirmed that the Monterrazas development, including its phase “The Rise,” complied with its Environment Compliance Certificate (ECC) and other DENR requirements, which are prerequisites for the Zoning Board’s approval. The CPDO issued the developer location clearance after this compliance. The developers have been issued at least two ECCs, the latest being an updated version in 2024.
The architect added that the project was allowed under the 1996 zoning ordinance, as the area was classified as a residential zone. Even with an 18-degree slope, development is not prohibited if paired with engineering interventions. However, he found it odd that the DENR, the agency that issued the ECC allowing the project, was now taking action against the developer.
Espina pointed out that the Monterrazas project drains to the Kinalumsan watershed, not the Mananga or Butuanon Rivers. Therefore, he clarified, the development had no direct link to the deadly and devastating flash floods in other areas like Talisay, Mandaue, Consolacion and Liloan. Nevertheless, he clarified that the alleged violations at Monterrazas remain serious.
During typhoon Tino, rainfall levels in upland areas reached as high as 300 millimeters due to the orographic effect — equivalent to a month’s rain in a single day. The hardest-hit areas in the city lie along the Mananga and Butuanon basins, which serve as the largest watersheds and downstream channels for the most intense rainfall.
Cebu City has seven main watersheds: Butuanon, Mananga, Lahug, Guadalupe, Kinalumsan, Buhisan and Mahiga. / EHP