Archival leaves Monterrazas' fate to DENR

Cebu City Mayor Nestor Archival has left the fate of the Monterrazas de Cebu controversy to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), saying the city will no longer pursue its own probe as the national agency presses criminal and administrative cases against the developer.

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In his latest press conference at City Hall, Archival stressed that the DENR's findings will dictate the city's next steps. “For me, dili na kinahanglan (own investigation), because there is already the independent katong DENR nga issue,” he said.

"I think there is already an issue na pasakaan nilag sumbong... so we don't have to do that. Kay ang national naman maoy naghatag ug direction nga mao niy buhaton," he added.

According to a report from the Philippine News Agency, the Philippine government's official news wire service, the DENR already filed a criminal case on December 3, 2025, against the Monterrazas developer for violating Section 77 of Presidential Decree No. 705, the Revised Forestry Code.

The complaint stemmed from a 2022 tree inventory that recorded 745 trees in the area, with a recent inspection showing only eleven remaining.