The developers challenged conservation groups in the Supreme Court of the Philippines, stating that the National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009 has no provision to protect skylines.

In 2017, the court ruled in favor of Torre de Manila's developer, DMCI Homes, effectively deflecting further attempts to stop the construction of the building.

Torre de Manila and developer DMCI Inc. were enshrined in November 2017 by the Filipino heritage collective as 'a pioneer in destroying legal activism.

[1] In June 2012, DMCI managed to secure a zoning permit that allows the company to build the Torre de Manila in a lot along Taft Avenue.

Criticism, including the Knights' petition to the Supreme Court focused on alleged violations of zoning ordinances by DMCI Homes, the owner of the building, and the impact to the sightlines of the Rizal Monument.

In June 2012, tour guide and activist Carlos Celdran first initiated a campaign online to protest the planned construction of the condominium stating its negative effect on the sight-lines of the monument.

[11] Critics of the project, including a Change.org petition and Celdran, have nicknamed the condominium the "Terror de Manila" and the "national photobomber".

[12][9] During the Supreme Court hearings in 2015, the city's legal officer admitted that when the zoning permit was issued, DMCI did not actually apply for an exemption.

[15][16] On April 25, 2017, the Supreme Court, voting 9 to 6, dismissed the Knights' petition and lifted the previously issued restraining order, allowing construction to continue.