A Cebuano environmental planner is urging the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to pursue stronger charges against property developer Monterrazas, arguing that the current case filed against the company fails to reflect the severity of alleged environmental violations.

Environmental Planner Gus Agosto, a former consultant to the Asian Development Bank, cited the DENR’s initial filing of a criminal complaint against the developer for alleged tree-cutting under Section 77 of Presidential Decree 705, or the Revised Forestry Code.

The provision covers offenses such as illegal logging and unauthorized possession of timber.

Agosto warned Friday that the current charge was “legally weak” and did not reflect the gravity of documented environmental damage.

“We cannot protect Cebu with symbolic cases. We need cases that actually stand up in court,” Agosto said in an interview. “The DENR’s current filing risks setting a precedent for impunity.”

Agosto pointed to the DENR’s own inspection reports, which he said confirmed 10 violations of the project’s Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC).

These violations included failures in drainage and stormwater controls, missing discharge permits required under the Clean Water Act, and site conditions that allegedly aggravated siltation and flooding during Typhoon TINO.

He argued that proper charges should instead include violations of Presidential Decree 1586, or the Philippine Environmental Impact Statement System, where each ECC violation constitutes a separate criminal offense.

Agosto also cited potential violations of Republic Act 9725, or the Clean Water Act, for unauthorized discharges and failed detention ponds; Article 365 of the Revised Penal Code for reckless imprudence resulting in environmental damage; and Presidential Decree 1096, or the National Building Code, for unsafe slope modification and land development practices.