Slater Young finally addressed the issue about The Rise at Monterrazas
Former Pinoy Big Brother housemate and businessman Slater Young broke his silence on the Cebu floods.
Slater was one of the people behind The Rise at Monterrazas. The structure is a 200-hectare, “Banaue Rice Terraces-inspired” luxury condominium built on a mountainside, located at Barangay Guadalupe, Cebu City.
When typhoon Tino hit the Philippines in November last year, the province of Cebu suffered from probably worst flooding. Areas like Talisay, Mandaue, and Liloan were greatly affected, which are geographically distant from the Monterrazas site.
Many people blamed the mountainside developments when the flood happened. Because of this, Slater Young and his company received a massive amount of bashing, especially when netizens recalled that the former actor defended the development, urging that it has advanced flood-control measure.
Amid the bashing, Slater remained silent and opted to deactivate the comment section of his social media pages. There were also reports saying that he and his family went abroad.
On Aprl 19, Slater broke his silence through the video he shared on Instagram. He said it is the right time for him to speak now since Monterrazas has already presented its findings.
The former PBB housemate also expressed condolences to everyone who lost their loved ones, as he and his family were also saddened by what happened.
“That tragedy is real, and deserves real answer,” Slater said, emphasizing that this matter, does not need speculations and misinformation. He also said that when the issue came and accusation surfaced, he initially thougth of responding to it. However, he said that it was better to let the proper investigation to take place.
“To let science and evidence speak, rather than to add to all the noise and confusion, and that was why we chose to keep quiet,” Slater stressed.
The former actor also mentioend that amid this issue, his family endured “deeply hurtful” criticism. However, he emphasized that what they suffered was nothing compared to those who were greatly affected by the flood.
Slater Young highlighted the “truth” that has come out, through an independent study conducted by the University of the Philippines’ scientists who are not connected to their project, stating that Monterrazas did not cause or worsen the flood, and what caused it was the massive rainfall.
Another point that he raised was that, aside from the fact that they met the standard for the water management, they doubled it. Slater stressed that anyone can have an access to these studies.