Slater Young Breaks Silence on Monterrazas Project After DENR Lifts Halt Order

(SPOT.ph) After months of backlash, a government stop order, and public anger over deadly floods, celebrity engineer Slater Young is finally speaking up about Monterrazas de Cebu—just as the controversial project gets the green light to move forward again.

On April 19, Young released a video statement responding to the issue, two days after the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) lifted its halt order on the project and more than five months after Typhoon Tino wreaked havoc on Cebu, killing nearly 100 people. In the aftermath, many residents pointed to the upscale hillside development as one possible reason the flooding had worsened.

Young pointed to a study by the University of the Philippines Diliman (UPD) College of Science’s Institute of Environmental Science and Meteorology, which looked at river systems in affected areas like Guadalupe and Kinamlumsan in Cebu City where Monterrazas was situated. He said the findings point to extreme rainfall—not the project—as the main cause of flooding.

“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,” Young said, even adding that the Monterrazas project might have even helped reduce flooding. “Our detention ponds caught and held back up to 99.74% of the excess rainwater... releasing it slowly instead of letting it all rush downhill all at once.”

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That was the question at the center of the UP study Young cited—and its conclusion was as straightforward as it could be.

“Flooding during Typhoon Tino happened across the whole river basin because of very heavy rain—not just from one area. The results show that Monterrazas de Cebu did not make flooding worse within its own watersheds. In fact, the detention ponds located upstream helped control the situation by slowing down and delaying the strongest flow of water, even during extreme rainfall,” it said in the study.

Young said other investigations reached similar conclusions as the UP study, suggesting the findings were not limited to one report. However, he did not identify which groups conducted those investigations or provide more information about them.

On why it took him so long to respond to the issue, Young said: “We believed the right thing to do was to let the proper investigation run its course, to let the science and evidence speak rather than to add to all the noise and confusion.”

In November 2025, DENR stopped Monterrazas after flagging violations related to construction and environmental compliance. Among the most notable findings was the extent of tree loss—of more than 700 trees recorded in 2022, only 11 remained after a tree-cutting permit was obtained for the project.

According to DENR, developer Mont Property Group Inc. was allowed to proceed with Monterrazas de Cebu after completing corrective measures, complying with the conditions of its Environmental Compliance Certificate, and settling penalties for earlier violations. A major part of those corrective measures focused on flood control. The developer built and upgraded 23 detention ponds across the site, with a total capacity of around 52,468 cubic meters. These are meant to catch and control rainwater before it flows downhill—essentially slowing things down to reduce the risk of flooding in nearby areas.

Young ended his statement by addressing the criticism more directly, saying the project would no longer stay silent in the face of what he described as misinformation.

“We understand that some, no study or finding will ever be enough. Grief does not follow a timeline and we respect that,” Young said. “But what are here to say is this: Cebu deserves real solutions and real solutions come from correctly identifying the real cause. That is work that is ongoing, and Monterrazas is committed to be a part of it. I am committed to be part of it.”

Young’s latest statement shows the public conversation is far from over. The reactions to his statement were as divided as you’d expect as seen on the comments section of his video statement on Facebook.

Critics argued that detention ponds and drainage systems, no matter how advanced, cannot fully replace what trees naturally do: hold soil in place, slow down water, reduce erosion, and help manage runoff before it reaches communities below. For them, the issue is not just whether Monterrazas followed the rules after being flagged. It is whether a large residential project should have been built on a steep hillside in the first place.

Supporters argued that Cebu’s flooding problem has been around even before the development. They pointed to clogged drainage, improper waste disposal, poor urban planning, and flooding in areas far from Monterrazas as reasons the blame should not fall on one hillside project alone.

Others were openly skeptical of the expert findings themselves. Some questioned whether the UP study was truly independent, despite Young's claims that the scientists behind it had "no connection, no stake in the project."

Even with the halt order lifted, Monterrazas de Cebu isn’t completely in the clear, with the Environmental Management Bureau Region 7 (EMB-7) continuing to monitor the project. The developer is still required to submit technical documents, maintain the drainage system, and show that the measures in place actually hold up over time.

“EMB Region 7 recognizes the importance of timely remedial action to protect communities and the environment. The detention ponds and associated measures represent a meaningful step toward mitigating flood risk, but continued monitoring and maintenance are essential to ensure long-term effectiveness,” EMB-7 Regional Director John Edward Ang was quoted as saying.

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