Department of Tourism Secretary Wanda Teo on Wednesday said that the decision of approving permits for the construction of the controversial Nickelodeon theme park in Palawan will be under the authority of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, not the DoT.
“At the end of the day, hindi naman kami ang mag-iissue ng permit [we are not the agency issuing the permit]. It’s the DENR and the local government unit,” Teo said during a press briefing.
Wanda’s clarification came after the tourism chief told a local television network that the widely protested project would push through after she was assured by the developers that they would “preserve the environment.”
The project will be built in Coron and would include a floating restaurant, hotel, and condominium building in the province.
Teo said developers of the project presented the concept to her last year and has not returned since then.
Teo said the concept was “one of a kind” and would open more job opportunities for Filipinos.
“For the people in Coron, they are the ones who will benefit,” she said.
Former Environment secretary Gina Lopez had opposed the idea of an underwater park in Coron, saying it would damage corals in the area.
The DENR regional office also maintained that it still “has to see pertinent papers of the resort.”
Teo earlier said the planned Nickelodeon theme park in Coron in northern Palawan is “pushing through” and added that the developers guaranteed that the corals would not be destroyed.
Teo said the developers—Nickelodeon’s parent company, Viacom International Media Networks, and partner Coral World Park Undersea Resorts Inc.—personally assured her the project will not cause irreparable damage to the town’s marine ecosystem, particularly the coral reefs.
The executives met with Teo after various groups strongly opposed the controversial project when it was announced in January. She recalled the developers telling her: “We are not going to destroy the corals. The restaurant will be floating…and we will preserve the place.”
Teo said Palawan officials feared the environmental consequences of the project such as the destruction of the corals.
Conservation groups in the country are preparing to mount a campaign to counteract the Nickelodeon project.
In defending the project, Teo cited what the developers told her: “But this one, no. They would be on top of the water. It will be floating, like a floating hotel, a floating restaurant wherein you will see the corals.”
Teo said the developers will also build condominiums and had already identified a place for those structures. She was told the Philippines is “lucky” since it was picked over Indonesia for the project.
Teo said, the DoT, although “excited” about the project, would have to defer to “appropriate agencies” for the permits and approval that the project proponents needed to start construction.
“From a tourism perspective, the DoT is excited about the idea,” she said.
The developer, Coral World Park Undersea Resorts Inc., had clarified that the project was not an underwater theme park, but an undersea-themed project that would be land-based.
But Teo said they haven’t talked about when the project would begin. The project would feature a floating restaurant designed to have transparent floors to allow patrons to see the coral reefs underneath.
“Underwater restaurants and lounges will be located about 20 feet below sea level with vivid views of the world beneath the ocean,” said Teo. Famous Nickelodeon characters, such as “Spongebob” and “Dora,” would be featured.
According to Teo, she only learned about the project when she read the news reports earlier this year.
In January, Viacom announced its collaboration with Coral World Park Undersea Resorts Inc. to develop a Nickelodeon undersea attraction in Coron—part of Coral World Park, a 400-hectare theme park in Coron that is expected to open in 2020.
The Viacom statement in January stated “that Nickelodeon’s first resort in Southeast Asia is slated to have 70 hectares set aside for the resort’s accommodation and 30 hectares for the themed attraction.”