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MANILA, Philippines -- Here’s one election where everyone is in agreement on the candidate -- the Republic of the Philippines.
The Manila city council passed a resolution on Thursday urging Filipinos to vote online for the Tubbataha Reef in Palawan as one of the “New Seven Wonders of Nature.”
According to District 2 Councilor Numero Lim, author of the resolution, it is time for Filipinos all over the world to use their Internet skills to vote at www.new7wonders.com for the benefit of the country.
“We Filipinos love to vote, that’s why in beauty pageants like Miss Universe we usually win the Miss Photogenic award. So why not make our votes count in something [that] can help to promote the Philippines?” he said.
The Tubbataha Reef in the Sulu Sea is a “unique example of an atoll reef with a very high density of marine species,” according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco), which placed the protected sanctuary in its World Heritage list.
As of 1 p.m. on Thursday, Tubbataha ranked 30th on the list of 77 nominees. The only other Philippine entry, the Chocolate Hills in Bohol, was No. 51, but slowly climbing like Tubbataha.
Ha Long Bay, Phong Nha National Park and Fansipan mountain in Vietnam were the top three vote-getters as of Thursday, followed by Cox’s Bazar Beach in Bangladesh, Sundarbans Forest and the Ganges River in Bangladesh and India, and Mount Everest in Nepal.
The contest was organized by the non-profit Seven Wonders Foundation that was established in 2001 and which conducted the “New Seven Wonders of the World” search that ended in 2007.
“Making the final cut is not only prestigious but (also) a tremendous boost for the country in terms of tourism gains, and winning has remarkable educational value for highlighting the beauty of nature and the diversity of our natural environment,” said the resolution.
It noted that the reef’s two islands supported the nesting areas of sea turtles, including the endangered pawikan, and was considered one of the top 10 dive sites worldwide.
Voting for the “New Seven Wonders of Nature” will be open until December 31, 2008. Afterward, a panel of experts will trim the 77 nominees to 21 and the last round of voting will be held until the end of 2009.
The top seven vote-getters will be declared the “New Seven Wonders of Nature” in 2010.
“We will appeal to all schools in Manila in this campaign. It will also be published in the newspapers to gain the support of Manileños. They can vote as many times as they like,” Lim said.
