Cebu City launched inspections across 65 developments in its South District to verify compliance with flood-mitigation rules and check required drainage and water containment measures.
City Councilor Joel Garganera advocated for a moratorium on new upland development applications to address cumulative environmental impacts and called for a complete assessment of the mountain landscape.
Council members observing Barangay Binaliw noted about 20 large trucks hauling minerals from northern slopes, where some quarry operators bypass restrictions by classifying operations as "site development."
CEBU City has launched inspections across 65 developments in its South District to verify compliance with flood-mitigation rules, but local officials caution that inspecting individual properties alone will not resolve the city’s recurring flood problems. The current exercise checks whether required drainage and water containment measures are actually in place. However, environmental leaders argue that isolated property audits fail to address the larger systemic issues affecting the city’s mountain areas.
The cumulative impact on city watersheds
Rainwater collected or redirected by multiple upland projects eventually merges as it flows downhill into low-lying urban areas. When construction alters the natural landscape, the combined runoff creates a volume of floodwater that single developments cannot manage independently. City Councilor Joel Garganera, who chairs the committee on environment, emphasized that evaluating projects individually hides their total environmental footprint.
“We should not look at it on a per-project basis. We should look at it as a whole,” he said.
To address this cumulative effect, Garganera has repeatedly advocated for a moratorium on new upland development applications, including in privilege speeches delivered in December and August. The proposed freeze would apply broadly to all potential developers while the City audits existing projects to determine if current drainage and water-impounding systems are effective before allowing more mountain construction.
Quarrying concerns in the North District
The environmental strain on Cebu City’s uplands extends beyond residential and commercial construction to include heavy quarrying in the northern slopes. During a recent visit to Barangay Binaliw, council members observed about 20 large trucks hauling minerals from the area, highlighting ongoing questions about local enforcement against unauthorized extractions.
Some quarry operators manage to bypass city restrictions by classifying their operations as “site development.” This designation allows extraction work to persist for years despite neighborhood complaints and official cease and desist orders issued by the City Environment and Natural Resources Office. Enforcement remains an ongoing challenge.“There are many who were arrested, but they are released immediately,” Garganera said.
Gaps in official oversight
While legitimate quarry operations hold valid permits, distinguishing between legal and illegal activity requires consistent oversight by the City’s mining board. However, regular monitoring has slowed. Under former mayor Michael Rama, the mining board met twice a month to review mining activities and resolve complaints. Under Mayor Nestor Archival, the board has met only a few times, limiting its ability to respond promptly to reported violations.
Identifying the root causes of runoff
Excavation scars visible across the northern mountains reflect decades of uncoordinated changes in the uplands without adequate flood safeguards. Debates over specific projects demonstrate the difficulty of pinpointing flood sources. Developments such as Monterrazas de Cebu have faced complaints linking their construction to massive runoff in low-lying communities, though representatives of the development dispute those assertions.
Rather than assigning blame to individual sites, officials argue that the City must conduct a complete assessment of its entire mountain landscape.
“Let us not be selective,” Garganera said.
Combining the 65 South District inspections with an investigation into northern quarrying and general watershed conditions offers the city a chance to identify why floodwaters reach low-lying neighborhoods so rapidly, establishing a foundation to fix root causes before upland damage worsens. / CAV