Underground river leads online poll

30 September 2008
By Ronnel W. Domingo in Manila and Ephraim Aguilar in Southern Luzon

THE PUERTO PRINCESA SUBTERRANEAN RIVER NATIONAL PARK in Palawan is topping the New 7 Wonders of Nature online poll, according to the live ranking results on its website yesterday.

Tourism Secretary Ace Durano said that as of yesterday four of the country’s natural havens had again shown a strong presence in the online poll: Bohol’s Chocolate Hills was ranked No. 4, Palawan’s Tubbataha Reef, No. 5, and Bicol’s Mayon Volcano, No. 11.

The New 7 Wonders of Nature is an ongoing campaign of the Switzerland-based foundation, the same group behind the New 7 Wonders of the World search last year. The results are determined by the number of votes cast by logging on to the website (www.new7wonders.com). Voting is until Dec. 31.

“We are pleased with the current rankings but as the deadline draws near, we should be more persistent in urging Filipinos to vote and actively promote our candidates,” Durano said.

Great tourism boost

Although the competition mandates that only one nominee per country would be included in the official final seven, having four strong nominees at this stage was a great boost for Philippine tourism, he said.

The other top placers are: Ha Long Bay in Vietnam; Cox’s Bazar Beach, Bangladesh; Al-hasa Oasis, Saudi Arabia; Ganges River, Bangladesh and India; Ali Sadr Cave, Iran; 9 Sundarbans Forest, Bangladesh and India; and Lake Saiful Maluk, Pakistan.

“The whole world is tuned in to this competition. Even if only one of our candidates remains in the final seven, we have gained so much publicity for our country as a destination with diverse natural sites,” Durano said.

Eduardo Jarque Jr., tourism undersecretary for planning and promotions, said nominees in the search must be a natural site, a natural monument or a natural landscape.

“There must be no human interference involved in the creation of the sites,” he said.

77 sites in next round

The nominees that make it to the top 77 sites will be eligible for the next round. Voting will continue until July 7 next year, according to the website.

A panel of experts under professor Federico Mayor, former director general of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco), will review the top 77 nominees and choose 21 finalists, which will be declared on July 21 next year.

The finalists will then be put to a popular vote.

The finals will run from 2009 to 2010, with each of the 21 finalists having a chance to be presented to global voters through the New 7 Wonders World Tour.

The Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park, features a limestone karst mountain landscape with an 8.2-km navigable underground river.

According to the New 7 Wonders website, “The underground river is reputed to be the world’s longest. At the mouth of the cave, a clear lagoon is framed by ancient trees growing right to the water’s edge. Monkeys, large monitor lizards and squirrels find their niche on the beach near the cave.”