The government has filed a criminal complaint against the developers of the Monterrazas de Cebu hillside project for alleged violations of forestry laws, amid public outrage linking the project to deadly floods that recently struck Cebu City.
“For the Monterazzas case, we have already filed a criminal case on Dec. 3, 2025, for violation of Section 77 of the Presidential Decree 705 or the Revised Forestry Code against the corporation,” Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Assistant Secretary Norlito Eneran said Wednesday, December 10.
The DENR earlier reported that its investigation found more than 700 trees cut within the 140-hectare property in Guadalupe, Cebu City—an allegation denied by developer Mont Property Group, which has yet to comment on the complaint.
Environment Undersecretary Juan Miguel Cuna said the agency used its evidence and satellite imagery in pursuing the case.
“A [tree] inventory was conducted in 2022. It identified 745 trees and when we checked recently there were only 11 trees left,” Cuna said.
“Before this case was filed, we have studied whatever we have at the regional level,” he added.
Eneran also confirmed that an administrative complaint was filed for violations of the project’s environmental compliance certificate (ECC).
DENR Central Visayas earlier reported that the developers breached 10 of the amended ECC’s 33 conditions, prompting the Environmental Management Bureau to issue a notice of violation and a stoppage order.
The Monterrazas de Cebu project—linked to celebrity engineer Slater Young—drew intense scrutiny after severe flooding during Typhoon Tino in early November left over 200 people dead, many of them Cebu residents.