Following a prolonged social media hiatus, Slater Young has officially broken his silence regarding the allegations that the Monterrazas project contributed to the devastating floods brought by Typhoon Tino.
Young explained that while his initial instinct was to respond immediately to the accusations, he chose to stay quiet to allow proper investigations to run their course and to “let the science and evidence speak”. He admitted that during this period, his family endured deeply hurtful criticism, but they waited for the verified truth rather than adding to the public noise.
Expressing his “sincerest condolences” to those who lost loved ones, homes, and livelihoods, Young emphasized that the victims deserve “real answers, not speculation, not misinformation”.
According to Young, an independent study conducted by scientists from the University of the Philippines—who have no connection or stake in the project—concluded that Monterrazas “did not cause or worsen the flooding”. The study attributed the disaster to the sheer volume of water from Typhoon Tino, which dumped a month’s worth of rainfall on Cebu in a single day, an amount that would have caused flooding regardless of the development.
Furthermore, Young revealed that the Monterrazas project did not just meet required water management standards, but nearly doubled them. He noted that the site’s detention ponds caught and held back 99.74% of excess rainwater, releasing it slowly to prevent a sudden downhill rush. “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,” Young stated, adding that multiple independent investigative bodies have reviewed the evidence and reached the same conclusion.
Moving forward, Young firmly stated that while he respects everyone’s right to an opinion, he will not stay silent against “deliberate misinformation” and will take necessary steps to protect his family. He concluded by emphasizing that Cebu needs real solutions based on correctly identifying the real causes of the flooding, a process he and Monterrazas are fully committed to supporting.
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