Slater Young breaks silence on Monterrazas issue

Slater Young has finally broken his silence on the controversy surrounding Monterrazas, his residential project in Cebu City, and its alleged link to the impact of Typhoon Tino in November 2025.

In a video statement cross-posted on all of Young’s social media platforms Sunday, the celebrity engineer acknowledged that accusations against the Monterrazas project prompted immediate public scrutiny, but he said he chose not to respond right away.

“Our first instinct was to respond immediately, but we held back because we believed that the right thing to do was to let the proper investigation run its course,” he said.

“To let the science and evidence speak rather than to add to the noise and confusion," he added. "That is why we chose to stay quiet."

In his video statement, Young stood firm that Monterrazas did not contribute to the massive flooding brought by Typhoon Tino, citing a study by the University of the Philippines Diliman College of Science – Institute of Environmental Science and Meteorology.

“These were done by scientists with no connection to the project, no stake in the project,” he said, referring to the March 2026 study, which concluded that the Monterrazas development did not cause or worsen the flooding during Typhoon Tino.

Per the study, the cause of flooding was sheer volume of rain.

“Typhoon Tino dumped over a month's worth of rainfall on Cebu in one single day,” Young said. “And that amount of water would have flooded those areas regardless of what was or was not built.”

Young also defended the project’s drainage and water management design, saying “our detention ponds caught and held back up to 99.74% of the excess rainwater coming off our site, releasing it slowly instead of letting it all rush downhill all at once."

“The science does not just say we did not cause the flooding. It says that the systems we have built in place help reduce it,” he added.

Meanwhile, Young also expressed sympathy for those affected by the Typhoon Tino disaster, which recorded 204 fatalities in November 2025.

“Like many of you, our family was deeply saddened by the devastation of Typhoon Tino,” he said.

“We want to express our sincerest condolences to everyone who has lost loved ones, homes, and livelihoods,” he added. “That tragedy was real, and it deserved real answers, not speculation, not misinformation.”

Young ended his statement by urging the public to rely on verified information moving forward.

“We respect everyone's right to their own opinion,” he said. “But we will not stay silent in the face of deliberate misinformation.”

“And we will take all the necessary steps to protect our family from it,” he added.

Earlier, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has lifted the cessation of operations order against the Monterrazas residential project in Cebu City after the company behind it carried out remedial works, complied with requirements, and settled penalties.

Following Typhoon Tinio, the DENR halted the upscale, rice-terraces-inspired residential project in upland Barangay Guadalupe after finding three violations in its construction back. That was back in November 2025.

According to the DENR, one of the violations it identified was the number of trees felled. Out of over 700 trees in 2022, only 11 remain after a tree-cutting permit was obtained for the project.

Young is married to lifestyle content creator Kryz Uy. They have three children: Scott, Sevi, and Saxon.

 

 

 

 

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— Hermes Joy Tunac/LA, GMA News