By Marita Moaje | Philippine News Agency
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has filed both criminal and administrative cases against the Monterrazas project in Cebu City for massive tree cutting.
“For the Monterrazas case, we already filed a criminal case on Dec. 3, 2025, for violation of Section 77 of Presidential Decree No. 705 or the revised Forestry Code, against the corporation,” DENR Assistant Secretary for Legal Affairs and Enforcement Norlito Eneran confirmed during a press briefing in Quezon City on Wednesday.
The charge stemmed from the DENR’s 2022 tree inventory, which documented 745 trees in the area.
Eneran said that a recent inspection found only 11 trees remaining.
“The company has its claim, but we have evidence that we have gathered. We have satellite imagery, and then, we have the inventory conducted in 2022,” he said, referring to the earlier statement of the Mont Property Group that no trees were cut by the developer, stating that “only shrubs and secondary undergrowth were cleared to facilitate the necessary earthworks.”
Eneran stood firm that field verification and remote sensing data form the core of the complaint.
Aside from the criminal charges, he said, an administrative case has also been filed against Monterrazas for failing to comply with 10 out of the 33 conditions set under its Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC).
Earlier, the DENR’s Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) said that the Monterrazas development project also violated the Clean Water Act and the Philippine Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) System, prompting the issuance of a notice of violation and a stoppage order.
Moreover, investigators also found that several of the 17 detention ponds designed to manage stormwater runoff were either damaged or heavily silted, leading to uncontrolled surface runoff that worsened flooding in nearby communities downhill during the onslaught of Typhoon Tino in Cebu.
Molasses spill
Meanwhile, the DENR gave an update on the cases filed against the Universal Robina Corp. (URC) for the molasses wastewater spill that occurred in Bais Bay and Manjuyod, Negros Oriental in November, damaging marine areas and affecting the livelihoods of residents.
The complaint was filed on Nov. 21 before the Office of the Prosecutor, citing violations of Republic Act 11038, or the Expanded National Integrated Protected Areas System (E-NIPAS) Act, particularly Section 18 paragraphs F, N, and O.
Eneran said these carry penalties ranging from fines to imprisonment of up to 12 years.
“Over and above the case that was filed for violation of the E-NIPAS, there’s a pending case also in the Pollution Adjudication Board, and there will be corresponding fines that are still for computation for violation of the Clean Water Act,” he said.
DENR Sec. Raphael Lotilla, meanwhile, said that tourism and fishing activities have resumed in the area after the three successive typhoons that hit the province in November, which helped dilute the levels of pollution.
“But definitely, we cannot afford a recurrence of the same incidents, and therefore we are working with all concerned stakeholders to make sure that there is no repeat occurrence,” he said.
