BROWSING THROUGH META (Facebook) and X (former Twitter) we saw an outpouring of gratitude by the people towards the Sierra Mountain and Cordillera Mountain ranges, that served as a shield against the gushing winds and strong rains of the dreaded Super Typhoon Uwan.
Our first line of defense, they said, was the Cordillera Mountain Ranges, which reduced the power of Uwan as it landed Isabela and provinces up in Northern Luzon before criss-crossing down to Bicol and other parts of Luzon, including NCR or Metro Manila.
Uwan then crossed the Sierra Madre Mountain, which again emasculated its strength thereby sparing cities and provinces in CALABARZON on its way to Quezon province from massive destruction.
It was just so sad that it gathered strength along its way to the Bicol region thereby inundating so many properties, particularly homes in the region.
Disasters like the earthquake in Cebu and TS Tino, which drowned most of Cebu and several provinces in the Visayas, make us realize the value of being vigilant in taking care of such precious God-given natural resources to our very existence.
For one, the evils of mining and mountain clearing (for dolomite to artificially uplift the pitiful dreg that is Manila Bay) and the construction of a posh village by creating condominium and house-and-lot option terraces in the mountain slopes of Barangay Guadalupe covering 200 hectares across Barangays Guadalupe, Sapangdaku, Buhisan, and Tisa in Cebu City.
The 19-story condo unveiled in August 2023, designed to cascade down the mountainside in a terraced style inspired by the Banaue Rice Terraces of Ifugao is one of the largest luxury residential development of 8990 Holdings Inc, owned by Luis N. Yu and Mariano Martinez, which acquired the project in 2019 for over P2.8 billion through its subsidiary Mont Property Group (formerly Genvi Development Corporation).
Celebrity engineer and former PBB reality TV star Slater Young is a key partner through his company SkyEstates Construction Corp., acting as Chief Strategy Officer for Mont Property Group and brand ambassador for 8990 Holdings.
Young has been the public face of the project since a joint venture announcement in 2021, promoting it as environmentally compliant and innovative.Each unit costs P40 to P50 million with features like advanced flood control measures such as detention ponds, wider green spaces, slope protection and a drainage system to manage runoff.
Financially, the project has been lucrative, generating P703.3 million in revenue (with P153.6 million in profit) in 2023 and P476.5 million in 2024 (despite a P22.4 million net loss that year), totaling over P1.1 billion. It represents a shift for 8990 Holdings toward high-end properties, but it has faced ongoing scrutiny for deviating from its original 2007 Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC), which approved a low-density housing subdivision rather than high-rises.
The lifestyle project of Young has been blamed for worsening floods since its inception, with historical incidents in 2008 and 2011 leading to permit revocations. During Typhoon Tino (international name Kalmaegi), which brought torrential rains and multiple landfalls in the Visayas, the flooding displaced thousands, caused 108-111 deaths in Cebu Province alone, and affected over 2.4 million people nationwide.
Residents and netizens claimed the development’s retention ponds and drainage failed to prevent high-volume runoff from saturating foundations and triggering instability, despite developers’ assertions of having the “best standard flood control” in the area. One resident lamented that preparations for the typhoon did not account for the “sudden water flow” from Monterrazas, while others questioned why trees were cut in vulnerable zones.
Defenders, including Young, have countered that the project prioritizes environmental compliance and includes measures like detention ponds to mitigate impacts. In 2023, Young stated the design was refined for sustainability and that the team is open to concerns. However, critics point out that these measures appear limited to the project site, neglecting downstream communities, and that the shift to high-rises may violate the original ECC.
Another culprit that caused massive flooding in the entire province of Cebu was the unabated quarrying, open pit mining and destroying the dolomite mountain, with the rocks sold for the white beach project of the Manila Bay during the Duterte administration, for which former DENR Secretary Roy Cimatu is now facing probe in the Lower House.
CULPRITS OF DESTRUCTION
The Sierra Madre Mountain ranges, which had always shielded Rizal, NCR and the rest of Central Luzon from virulent storms is being ceaselessly attacked by illegal loggers, miners and those setting up resorts (despite absence of environmental clearance certificates) and is about to be challenged by 29 monstrous windmills and big trucks that would tow this monstrosity to the peak supposedly for the development of renewable energy, which, however, would wipe out the protective trees, wildlife and other indigenous flora and fauna from the place.
Environmental advocates and the netizens are now voicing their vehement objections to the wind farms that the Department of Energy has approved for the area, citing that thid kind of development would benefit only a few investors while placing the whole country in peril for current and future generations. (I have personally been writing vociferous comments against the projects on FB).
GOVERNMENT LAXITY
Such disasters– wherever the location– can only be traced to the laxity and indolence of national (especially the DENR, the DPWH) and local governments’ laxity in protecting the country’s natural resources, for the simple reason that they have been on the take of the project proponents.
Never mind if they have overlooked, or consciously, did not issue ECCs and other permits, so long as their pockets are loaded and their lifestyles are well provided for.
Never mind, if the results of their greed and inaction (even feigned ignorance) would result in lost lives, properties, livelihood and job securities of the people surrounding such projects.
Individually, we have not been good stewards and protectors of such resources. Our insolence and mindlessness– throwing garbage just anywhere, violating the Clean Air Act and so many other environmental laws– must also be put to task. We have been careless in watching and preserving God’s gift to mankind.
We all are to blame, but most importantly our corrupt lawmakers, resource administrators and corrupt officials must be castigated to high heavens for their wanton neglect and lack of concern for current and future generations of Filipinos.