Cebu City’s political landscape was sharply divided this week as the City Council’s majority bloc moved to block Vice Mayor Tomas Osmeña’s impassioned push to immediately suspend the controversial Monterrazas de Cebu real estate development. In a contentious session on Tuesday, the council opted to defer the issue to its Technical Infrastructure Committee, effectively sidestepping an outright cease-and-desist order that Osmeña argued was critical for public safety.
This decision underscores a deep-seated ideological rift within City Hall, pitting the urgent call for precautionary intervention against a meticulous adherence to technical data and established legal frameworks. At stake are the lives of vulnerable residents living downstream from the sprawling upland development, weighed against concerns for regulatory compliance, economic stability, and the rights of developers. The debate illuminates the persistent tension between rapid urban expansion and the imperative of environmental protection in one of the Philippines' fastest-growing metropolitan areas.
Vice Mayor Osmeña, a long-standing and vocal critic of the hillside development, launched an aggressive bid to freeze all activities at the Monterrazas de Cebu project. He proposed a resolution that would halt all work, save for the construction of its vital water catchments, which he deemed essential for mitigating flood risks. The Vice Mayor framed the issue not as an opposition to progress or development, but as a stark matter of life and death for the city’s most vulnerable residents residing in the lowlands below.
Drawing a grim analogy for his fellow council members, Osmeña warned that the city was "playing Russian roulette" with the lives of its poorest citizens. He emphasized that while the probability of a disaster might seem small, the consequences of such an event would be absolute and catastrophic. "If it happens, you're not 18 percent dead. You're 100 percent dead," he reportedly stated, stressing the finality of potential loss.
The urgency of Osmeña's appeal was rooted in historical precedents and ongoing concerns about the project's environmental impact, particularly its potential to exacerbate flooding. He referenced the deadly Binaliw landslide, an earlier disaster that tragically demonstrated how even highly regarded engineering firms could make critical errors. The Vice Mayor expressed skepticism about assurances regarding the Monterrazas’ detention ponds, citing previous overflows as evidence of their vulnerability, and stressing the inherent unpredictability of extreme weather events like typhoons in the region. He has consistently argued that no major development should proceed without adequate safety and mitigation infrastructure fully in place, advocating for a complete halt to earthmoving activities until all flood control facilities are completed and operational.
To formalize his stand, Osmeña filed a proposed resolution urging Mayor Nestor Archival Sr. to issue a new cease-and-desist order. This order would specifically target all development activities of Mont Property Group, the developer behind Monterrazas, with the crucial exception of work directly related to the construction and completion of water catchments and flood mitigation structures. The resolution stipulated that such an order should remain in effect until all designated water catchments are fully operational and verified. For Osmeña, this was a clear matter of prioritizing human lives over developer profits, lamenting that "The poor who live underneath the development... do not have PR firms and influencers to speak on their behalf. They do not have a voice. I will be their voice."
However, the City Council’s majority bloc presented a markedly different perspective during Tuesday’s session. They countered the Vice Mayor’s impassioned plea by emphasizing the importance of regulatory compliance, existing technical findings, and procedural safeguards. Councilors argued against what they perceived as a premature, selective, and potentially legally fragile sudden cease-and-desist order. Councilor Winston Pepito, for instance, noted that Mont Property Group had already addressed extensive questions regarding water catchments during an earlier executive session. He cautioned against creating an impression that the council was singling out one developer or adopting an anti-business stance, especially if the developer had satisfied applicable requirements.
The developer, Mont Property Group, has consistently asserted that its flood-control infrastructure is robust and exceeds city requirements. The company reported that all current detention ponds are completed, with their active infrastructure boasting a capacity that is 240 percent more than the city’s mandated flood-control capacity, totaling 62,710.50 cubic meters. This extensive system includes 14 catchment areas served by 24 existing detention ponds, with eight more proposed to further enhance mitigation efforts. The company’s reports suggest they have implemented extensive flood mitigation steps, including slope stabilization, sediment traps, and erosion control systems across the development site.
Councilor Paul Labra clarified that Osmeña’s proposed resolution merely urged the mayor to act and did not compel the immediate issuance of a cease-and-desist order. Nevertheless, minority members maintained that requesting executive action carried minimal downside given the potential for catastrophic consequences. Councilor Harold Go echoed this sentiment, asserting that while Cebu City should remain business-friendly and supportive of economic growth, protecting lives must always take precedence over purely economic considerations. "The business can be earned, but life, once it's gone, can't be returned," Go stated unequivocally. Minority Floor Leader Sisinio Andales invoked the time-honored principle that "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure," arguing that the government should not wait for tragedy before taking decisive action.
This is not the first time the Monterrazas de Cebu project, a sprawling 118-hectare hillside luxury residential development, has come under intense scrutiny for its environmental footprint. In late 2025, the project faced a temporary cease-and-desist order from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) following widespread flooding in Cebu City during Typhoon Tino. At the time, the developer was cited for alleged violations of its Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC), which included issues related to vegetation loss, drainage, and detention systems that were deemed insufficient.
However, after a series of on-site inspections, verification of corrective measures implemented by Mont Property Group, and the payment of stipulated penalties, the suspension was lifted in April 2026. The Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) subsequently allowed the project to resume operations, albeit under continuous monitoring and compliance requirements to prevent future environmental breaches. Concurrently, the Cebu City Council had also, in April of that year, adopted a resolution stating that technical findings did not, at that time, justify a cease-and-desist order, attributing the flooding to multiple factors like drainage limitations and tributary inflows, rather than solely the Monterrazas development.
Ultimately, the council’s decision to defer the matter to the Technical Infrastructure Committee represents a strategic compromise, or perhaps a temporary delay, in the ongoing saga of the Monterrazas development. While it avoids the immediate halt sought by the Vice Mayor, it also signals continued scrutiny from City Hall. The committee is now tasked with a thorough review of the technical aspects and compliance issues, a process that will likely involve further assessments, expert consultations, and extended deliberations. This latest development ensures that the debate over balancing urban development with environmental protection and public safety will continue to be a defining feature of Cebu City’s governance in the foreseeable future, as residents, developers, and city officials grapple with the intricate challenges of growth in a rapidly urbanizing landscape.