RECENTLY, Seven Seas Waterpark and Resort, located in Brgy. Barra, Opol, Misamis Oriental, has been the subject of a lot of speculation with regard to reports made by local media outlets regarding a closure order by the DENR (Department of Environment and Natural Resources).
At the outset, there is no closure order against the Seven Seas Waterpark in Barra, Opol, Misamis Oriental. Seven Seas Waterpark and Resort continues to be open for business from 9am till 5 pm daily.
What is true however, is that UC-1 Corporation (which owns and operates Seven Seas Waterpark and Resort) is one of the five* respondents in a recent case filed by the DENR 10 as petitioner in January 2017 for the annulment of judgment of RTC, Branch 39 which granted the application for land registration of L.S. Properties Inc. (LSPI) in 2002 or over 15 years ago, which was the basis of the judicial titles of LSPI. Subsequently, UC-1 Corporation bought in good faith the titled parcels of land from LSPI in 2012, now being used for the waterpark.
On January 19, 2018, the DENR via the OSG was granted a TRO (Temporary Restraining Order) by the Court of Appeals, Cagayan de Oro against respondents LSPI and UC-1 Corporation. UC-1 was not served with a Writ of TRO until the said TRO was ordered lifted 38 days later on February 26, 2018. The OSG’s Application for Issuance of a Writ of Preliminary Injunction was denied by the appellate court in a Resolution promulgated on February 26, 2018. To date, there is no restraining order nor injunction for the closure of the waterpark.
For the record, UC-1 Corporation/ Seven Seas Waterpark and Resort has strictly complied with local LGU permits, acquired an ECC (Environmental Compliance Certificate) from the DENR in 2014 before construction started, installed the latest state of the art water treatment system, and was granted a BOI (Board of Investments) certificate under pioneering theme park category in 2017. The company also has a DAR (Department of Agrarian Reform) certificate which has approved the conversion of the said properties from agricultural to commercial status.
We thank Misamis Oriental Gov. Bambi Emano, Opol Mayor Maximino Seno, and DOT Regional Director May Salvana Unchuan, for their unsolicited support in ensuring the continued development of tourism in Northern Mindanao. We also would like to assure DENR that we will continue our efforts to protect ,maintain and ensure the sustainability and viability of the environment in our area of operations.
The Management Seven Seas Waterpark and Resort
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