Cases against Monterrazas developers weak? DENR urged to beef up charges

Local

AN ENVIRONMENTAL planner has urged the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to strengthen the criminal case against the developer of the Monterrazas residential project.

Gus Agosto warned that the current charge is “dangerously weak” and does not reflect the scale of the environmental violations documented by the agency.

Agosto called on DENR and the Cebu City Prosecutor’s Office to “immediately correct” what he described as a legally misplaced case filed under Section 77 of Presidential Decree 705, or the Forestry Code, which penalizes illegal logging and tampering with forestry markings.

“We cannot protect Cebu with symbolic cases. We need cases that actually stand up in court. The DENR's current filing risks setting a precedent for impunity,” Agosto said on Thursday, Dec. 11.

DENR earlier confirmed filing a case on December 3, citing a violation of Section 77 of PD 705. The offense carries a penalty of two to four years imprisonment, a fine of ₱1,000 to ₱10,000, and the cancellation of permits.

Agosto said the charge “does not legally apply” to the issues raised against Monterrazas, such as failed drainage systems, siltation, unpermitted discharges, and large-scale slope alteration, nor does it reflect the 10 Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) violations cited by DENR inspectors.

“DENR’s own findings confirm 10 ECC violations, failed drainage systems, and missing discharge permits under the Clean Water Act. None of these serious offenses is properly punished under the Forestry Code. This is legal negligence that must be corrected,” he said.

Agosto, a former consultant of the Asian Development Bank and a member of the Visayas EIA Review Committee, said the correct primary charge should be Presidential Decree 1586, which governs the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) System. Each violated ECC condition constitutes a separate criminal count under the law, he noted.

“The 10 violations found mandate 10 criminal counts under this decree,” he said.

He also urged the DENR to file additional charges, including violations of:

• Republic Act 9275 (Philippine Clean Water Act) for sediment pollution, failed detention ponds, and lack of discharge permits;

• Article 365 of the Revised Penal Code for reckless imprudence resulting in environmental harm and community disruption;

• Presidential Decree 1096 (National Building Code) for unsafe slope modifications.

“When detention ponds fail and slopes are over-cut, the result is flooding, siltation, power outages, water interruption, and blocked roads,” he said. “Even communities that did not flood still suffered — that is real harm, and it is punishable by law.”

Agosto also pressed the DENR to publicly release the complete inspection findings, including the full list of ECC violations and technical assessments on stormwater, slope stability, and drainage failures.

He said formal requests have already been sent to the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) and the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB), but no full report has been released.

“Cebuanos deserve to know the truth. The full report should be made public because environmental protection is a non-negotiable matter of public safety and disaster risk reduction,” he said.

Agosto warned that undercharging the Monterrazas developer risks emboldening other upland projects.

“If we let one major project get away with weak charges, every risky developer will think they can gamble with our lives,” he said. “This is not anti-development; this is pro-public safety. Typhoon Tino showed us that upland greed becomes lowland grief.”

DENR officials earlier said the case was pursued following reports of a steep decline in vegetation at the site—from more than 700 trees in 2022 to only 11 remaining despite the presence of a tree-cutting permit.

The agency also flagged the absence of a required discharge permit and the inadequacy of a planned centralized retention pond and 15 additional water-capture structures.

The Monterrazas developer, Mont Property Group, has denied the allegations, calling reports of cutting over 700 trees “grievously false.” The firm said only shrubs and secondary growth were removed, consistent with its ECC and development permits.

It added that its Environmental Impact Statement classified the area as dominated by grass, shrubs, and small plants with minimal potential for sustained tree growth.(TGP)