THE oldest ethnic group of indigenous peoples in Central and Northern Palawan has opposed the construction of a 400-hectare underwater theme park in Coron.
In a news conference in Quezon City Wednesday night, Anita Blanco, chieftain of Marcilla, Coron, said the development of a park project could only destroy Palawan’s coral reefs and marine resources, and badly affect the fishing livelihood of the residents.
“We call on President Rodrigo Duterte to step into our appeal not to push through with the plan to build a theme park in the area,” she told reporters.
Despite the assurance of Tourism Secretary Wanda Teo that the commitment of the developer—the US television network Nickelodeon—not to destroy the corals and the island’s biodiversity, the Tagbanwa people of Palawan asserted their rights to ancestral domains, including the sea of Coron.
“We have already been devastated by Super Typhoon “Yolanda,” and in fact, have not yet recovered from its adverse impacts. We cannot imagine another damage to be done to our environment if the theme park project pushes through,” Blanco said.
Prudencio Calix, chieftain of Concepcion, Busuanga, for his part, said things would aggravate with the project implementation.
“We live in the island. There are security personnel there because of a pearl farm operation. If we will have a theme park there in Coron, can you imagine what will happen to us?” he asked.
“The government must look into this, and not in the plan to favor Nickelodeon.”
Blanco and Calix were joined by Larry Orongan of the Social Action Center-Taytay, Palawan, and Feriolo Bacnan, chieftain of Sagrada, Busuanga.
The Nickelodeon management will build a floating restaurant and hotel with a transparent flooring to see the corals in Coron.
The concerned local government units there opposed the plan and expressed fear the theme park development could destroy the corals.