PUERTO PRINCESA CITY- The Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park Saturday broke into the top 77 nominees of the global search for the New Seven Wonders of Nature, an online voting campaign organized by a Switzerland-based non profit organization supported by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, (Unesco).
The city government said it made the cut after tapping into the surge of tourist traffic coming to Puerto Princesa for the 2008 Palarong Pambansa being held this week and summer holidays to encourage visitors to cast their votes online for Palawan's main attraction, which was nominated only less than a month ago.
With its current ranking, the underground river has at least to maintain or improve position
until the end of the year in order to qualify for the second and final round of voting starting in January next year.
"The underground river is famous here and abroad which makes me feel confident that we will make it to the next round and hopefully into the final seven. We have been asking our visitors to vote for the underground river,"Puerto Princesa City Mayor Edward Hagedorn said.
City hall personnel have been actively distributing leaflets and streamers have been set up in strategic places around the city to solicit votes for the underground river, an8.2 kilometer navigable river that snakes under a huge mountain some 81 km north of the city proper.
The Tubbataha Reefs National Marine Park, also located in Palawan and was nominated for online voting early on, is currently entrenched in the top 10 ranking.
Currently removed from the list were the Chocolate Hills of Bohol and Mayon volcano.
The Tubbataha Reefs was likewise delisted several weeks ago but immediately placed back online by the organizers after complying with nomination requirements.
An official of the New7Wonders Foundation, which replied to the Inquirer's inquiry why the two other Philippine sites had been delisted, said these sites have yet to comply with the requirement to set up an official supporting committee.
"All nominees remain provisional nominees until they have been confirmed. Confirmation requires the nominee to set up an official supporting committee, at which point they become an official nominee, " said Stephanie Mcnamara of the organizing group in an e-mail to Inquirer.
"Any provisional nominees without official supporting committees cannot participate and therefore are suspended until this situation is rectified." Inquirer Southern Luzon.
(Quoted from Across the Nation column, Philippine Daily Inquirer, May 2, 2008)
Comment: To all who would like to be amazed about this world wonder, visit Palawan and see for yourself the beauty of Paradise. This is a chance of a lifetime and for generations to come.
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