THE owner of Seven Seas Waterpark and Resort belied reports on Monday, April 9, that the water park is subject to a closure order from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources Office (DENR).
“There is no such order,” said Elpidio Paras, president of UC-1 Corporation, which owns and operates the Seven Seas Waterpark and Resort in Opol town, Misamis Oriental.
Paras called the supposed reports being spread by some media outlets as false but declined to name the media organizations involved.
"This must be related to Boracay closure since there is a Seven Seas Boracay Properties building which was found in the wetlands by DENR. We do not own that fortunately," Paras said.
Just two weeks ago, Paras said the DENR-Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) and Department of Tourism (DOT) already inspected the Seven Seas, the first water park in Northern Mindanao Region, and found no violations.
"I urge the media outlets to verify their sources first before announcing anything. This kind of reckless and untrue reporting damages the image of law-abiding tourism investors like us and degrades the extensive promotional efforts the DOT and private sectors have done to blunt the effects of martial law in the region and the whole of Mindanao," Paras said.
"It saddens us that instead of helping us local investors who have invested a lot of money and effort to create and promote one of the prime tourist destinations of the country, some media persons sensationalized the unfortunate plight of fellow tourism stakeholders in Boracay and linked us erroneously to the ongoing crises in the island. We hope that these issues be corrected as soon as possible," he adds.
Since it opened in December last year, the water park has drawn thousands of tourists from all over the country for its pirate-themed park with over 20 different slides, rides and attractions, as well as restaurants, cafes and food kiosks.
Paras said Seven Seas has performed very well since opening in December and continues to welcome thousands of visitors this summer.
"As the Philippine's first world class pirate themed waterpark, it has given pride and honor to Northern Mindanao and beyond," he said.