MANILA — A Cebu City technical panel has cleared the hillside Monterrazas de Cebu property development to continue, after finding that its on-site water retention infrastructure drastically exceeds safety requirements, according to an official report released Tuesday.
The city’s Technical Infrastructure Committee (TIC) approved the fact-finding report submitted to the City Council, addressing flood concerns that previously triggered a Cease and Desist Order against developer Mont Property Group following last year’s Typhoon Tino.
Monterrazas came under scrutiny after catastrophic floods brought on by Typhoon Tino devastated Cebu. Critics said the property, which was built along steep hillsides, was partly responsible for the floods, which killed at least 150 in Cebu.
The Cebu City Council, however, said that a joint-agency inspection of the 118-hectare development verified that seven detention ponds in the project's central Montelago sector hold 27,483 cubic meters of rainwater—more than three times the mandated 8,220-cubic-meter capacity. City engineers confirmed the massive excess allows the site to catch heavy rainfall and release it at a controlled rate into municipal drainage lines.
The committee reported it could not find Monterrazas solely responsible for downstream flooding in the Guadalupe area. Instead, technical inspectors pointed to broader infrastructure failures outside the development's borders, including older neighboring subdivisions built with zero retention ponds and severe municipal pipe bottlenecks that choke drainage from 1,500 mm down to 450 mm.
Finding that internal safety dams are working as intended, the panel concluded that resolving local flooding requires the Cebu City government, local barangay leaders, and competing developers to collectively re-engineer the entire mountain watershed.
Mont Property Group welcomed the findings.
“Mont Property Group will continue to ensure all of our projects comply with the Government’s regulations. Our top priority has always been the welfare of our neighboring communities and making sure that we protect the environmental integrity of these shared spaces.” Camille Bondad, General Manager of Mont Property Group said.
Last April, the company said it would proceed with the project after the Department of Environment and Natural Resources approved all of the developer's corrective measures.