MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has flagged the Monterrazas de Cebu project for multiple environmental violations, citing hundreds of trees cut left unrecorded and the developer’s failure to secure required water discharge permits.

In an interview on Thursday, November 13, the DENR in Central Visayas revealed three major findings from the investigation it recently launched over real estate development Monterrazas de Cebu after Typhoon “Tino” severely inundated the province. 

First, the developers failed to report 734 trees cut out of the 140-hectare property area it secured in Guadalupe, Cebu City. Only 11 were accounted for, DENR Region 7 Assistant Regional Director for Technical Services Eddie Llamedo said in an interview with Radyo Pilipinas. 

The discovery followed a DENR tree inventory in October 2022, which recorded 745 trees on the Monterrazas property as part of its environmental compliance certificate (ECC) application.

“They found out that out of 745, only 11 were accounted for, so meaning there was a violation of Section 77 of Presidential Decree 705, or the Forestry Code of the Philippines,” Llamedo said.  

According to him, Monterrazas’ developers were aware of the requirements, given that the DENR had provided them with a checklist in November 2022 that detailed the tree-cutting and inventory procedures.

Section 77 refers to the criminal offense of cutting, gathering and collecting forest products without having the legal documents required under existing laws and regulations. 

10 of 33 conditions violated

Second, Llamedo said that out of the 33 conditions stated in the amended ECC granted to the developers, 10 were violated. Since the probe commenced last week, the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) issued a notice of violation and a stoppage order to the developers of Monterrazas de Cebu.

Failure to comply with the ECC could incur penalties under Presidential Decree 1586, or the Environmental Impact Statement System, including a fine of P50,000 for each violation.

One of the violations, according to Llamedo, is the lack of discharge permits required under the Clean Water Act. These permits serve as legal authorization from the DENR to release wastewater or effluents into water bodies and specify the allowable volume and quality of discharge to protect public health and the environment.

Floods established 

Third, he said flooding linked to the Monterrazas project was confirmed after inspectors found that 17 detention ponds in the area were heavily silted, with uncontained surface runoff flowing into nearby waterways. Some ponds were also damaged, causing runoff to spill downslope and affect lower communities.

When a detention pond is filled with silt, it loses its ability to store water effectively.

Llamedo clarified, however, that the five areas most affected by the floods were situated roughly 5.4 to 11 kilometers from the Monterrazas site, suggesting distance may have been a factor in the extent of impact.

Criminal raps possible

Due to the violations found, he said the developers of Monterrazas were summoned to a technical conference on Thursday through a show-cause order issued by the DENR to address the alleged ECC violations.

The developers may also face administrative penalties and criminal cases for violating multiple environmental laws and regulations, he added. 

Aside from the Monterrazas de Cebu, the DENR said it is also reviewing the environmental compliance of other upland area development projects.

After floods in Cebu left 57 people dead and caused widespread damage, Llamedo called on developers, engineers and architects of upland area development projects to revisit their project designs to account for heavier rainfall and the growing effects of climate change.

“[They should] revisit their impact assessment plan, siltation ponds, detention ponds. We need to be updated based on the existing effects of climate change,” he said. 

The DENR said it is closely monitoring statements and comments circulating on social media. A joint technical team has also been conducting surveys in nearby communities to determine whether they were affected by the floods during Typhoon Tino.