THE Tourism department said Sunday it will not promote Nickelodeon’s proposed Coral World Park in Coron, Palawan, if it will destroy the environment.
“We will not allow that because one of our advocacies is to promote places as long as the environment will not be destroyed, Tourism Secretary Wanda Teo said in a radio interview on Sunday.
She said she raised concerns about the corals in Coron, and the developers assured her that the reef would be safe as the structure would be “floating.”
“They told me Ma’am, no because the restaurant and the hotels are floating. The corals are underneath,” she said.
Teo affirmed previous statements that the Environment department and the local government units of Palawan would ultimately decide whether to accept or reject the project.
“We are only here to promote once it’s ready,” Teo said.
“Once the destination is ready, then we will promote it.”
Teo said she was impressed when her department was shown a “concept” of the theme park last year.
“It was beautiful,” she said.
Environmental groups on Wednesday reminded the Tourism department of its mandate to “promote a tourism industry that is ecologically sustainable, responsible, participative, culturally sensitive, economically viable and ethically and socially equitable for local communities.”
Save Philippine Seas, Greenpeace and other groups continue to express apprehension about the project as the developers have yet to disclose the location of the theme park or any other information about it.
Coral reef scientist Wilfredo Licuanan said Wednesday Philippine reefs were already stressed and additional human activity would only add to that stress.
“We have to remember that aside from the large number of people living near the reefs, the Philippines is number three globally in reef area. Almost anything you do near a coast will have an impact on reefs,” Licuanan said.
He said the Coral World Park would likely involve the construction of a causeway, and poor land management could lead to soil slipping into the water, and that could destroy the corals.
Meanwhile, the fishermen’s group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas criticized the statement of Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu on the proposed Nickelodeon underwater-theme Park in Palawan.
Cimatu said Friday he would first conduct a ‘‘thorough inquiry regarding the proposed project as they awaited the formal request for the project.
In a statement, Pamalakaya said they expected Cimatu to oppose the project without reservation because it would imperil the country’s last ecological frontier.
“Although we welcome Secretary Cimatu’s immediate response on the project, we are not that satisfied,” Fernando Hicap, Pamalakaya chairman, said in a statement.
“We find his statement dilly-dallying on the looming threat of destruction to our marine environment. What we want is for the new DENR administration to outrightly defy the project and extend his support to the fishermen who will be economically affected if the project will proceed.”