A Philippine Wonder

Puerto Princesa Underground River among 'New 7 Wonders of Nature'

GENEVA - The Philippines' Puerto Princesa Underground River, the Amazon rainforest, Vietnam's Halong Bay and Argentina's Iguazu Falls were named among the world's new seven wonders of nature, according to organizers of a global poll.

The other three crowned the world's natural wonders are South Korea's Jeju Island, Indonesia's Komodo, and South Africa's Table Mountain, said the New7Wonders foundation, citing provisional results.

Final results will be announced early 2012, said the Swiss foundation, warning however that there may yet be changes between the provisional winners and the final list.

Sites which have failed to make the cut include Tanzania's Mount Kilimanjaro, the Dead Sea and the US Grand Canyon.

The poll organized by Swiss foundation New7Wonders has attracted great interest, mobilizing celebrities including Argentinian football star Lionel Messi calling on fans to pick his home country's Iguazu Falls.

The results came after a long consultation process lasting from December 2007 to July 2009, when world citizens were asked to put forward sites which they deemed were natural wonders.

More than a million votes were cast to trim the list of more than 440 contenders in over 220 countries down to a shortlist of 77.

The group was then further cut to the 28 finalists by a panel of experts.

Anyone in the world was then able to vote for the final seven via telephone, text messages or Internet social networks.

Founded in 2001 by filmmaker Bernard Weber in Zurich, the foundation New7Wonders is based on the same principle on which the seven ancient wonders of the world were established. That list of seven wonders was attributed to Philon of Byzantium in ancient Greece.

New7Wonders said its aim is to create a global memory by garnering participation worldwide.

But even as the natural wonders poll came to a close, the New7Wonders foundation has set its eyes on a new survey -- the top seven cities of the world. Participating cities will be announced on January 1, 2012.

source: http://www.interaksyon.com/article/17139/puerto-princesa-underground-river-among-new-7-wonders-of-nature

Personal Reaction:

          Puerto Princesa Underground River (PPUR)  is one of the famous tourist spots in Palawan. If you visit Palawan, your vacation wouldn't be complete if you will miss to see this Underground River. PP Underground River is truly a “must-see”. The survey of the New 7 Wonders opened an opportunity not just for Puerto Princesa, Palawan but the Philippines as well, to showcase its natural wonder. When PPUR was recognized as one of the New 7 Wonders, more tourists were willing to visit Puerto Princesa. Because of this, more people would get to know the Philippines and tourism will boom here.  It is an economic issue because this will have effects on our economy. This may lead to opening of more businesses and  providing more jobs for the Filipinos. Unemployment could be lessend. Some businesmen may be attracted to invest here in our country. The Philippines as a whole will benefit from this news because tourists, after visiting Palawan would be driven to book for a trip to other places in our country such as Cebu, Bohol or Boracay. The Philippines will have a chance to be known worlwide due to its booming tourism and economy. We can say that this will result to a domino effect for our country. Our economy would improve in the long run if Philippines would continue to nurture its natural beauty.

           Puerto Princesa Underground River is truly a pride of  Palawan and especially the Philippines. It is a natural wonder indeed. Filipinos should move hand in hand in preserving this picturesque Underground River. Despite the large number of tourists who visits there, PPUR remains unpolluted. More than the financial boost that it will give our country, Filipinos voted for it for the glory and honor of the Philippines. We should truly be happy that PPUR became one of the New 7 Wonders. As Filipinos, we should continue to flaunt what the Philippines have.