Puerto Princesa Underground River sure to be on top of list, says DENR chief

Puerto Princesa Underground River

The Puerto Princesa Underground River which is already on the provisional list of the New Seven Wonders of Nature will make it to the final list, a top government official said Monday.

Environment Secretary Ramon Paje said it would be impossible for the river to be removed from the final list, saying he believed the natural landmark garnered one of the highest votes in the global online contest.

“We will not be dropped from it,” Paje said. In terms of votes received online and via SMS, “we may be between the top 1 to 3,” he added.

While Philippine officials were not told how many votes the underground river got, Puerto Princesa Mayor Edward Hagedorn said it was estimated that SMS alone generated at least 24 million votes for the Philippines’ entry.

The search for the New Seven Wonders of Nature was organized by the Switzerland-based New7WondersFoundation in 2007.

A total of 440 entries from more than 220 countries vied to be included in the final seven. The voting ended on November 11.

Puerto Princesa’s most famous tourist destination emerged as one of the seven winners.

Organizers said the list of winners announced two weeks ago was only provisional and could still change by the time a final announcement is made in early 2012.

The other winners were Argentina’s Iguazu Falls, South Korea’s Jeju Island, Indonesia’s Komodo Island, Vietnam’s Halong Bay, South America’s Amazon rainforest and South Africa’s Table Mountain.

Meanwhile, Paje, who heads the national campaign, slammed reports that said the new seven wonders search was a marketing scam.

This surfaced after Maldives and Indonesia withdrew their respective entries from the contest, saying the organizers were asking them to pay fees of up to $500,000.

Paje said the Philippines did not have the same experience, adding the national government had not paid anything to anyone.

“This is our global success. Let us not taint it,” he said.

According to Paje, the Indonesian government did not support its campaign because of infighting among its ministers involved with its  entry, Komodo Island.

“The (Indonesian) civil society continued the campaign,” Paje said.

Palawan’s 8.2-kilometer underground river is a unique natural formation, featuring a spectacular limestone and complex cave system.

The PPUR flows directly into the sea with the lower portion of the river brackish and subject to tidal influence.

The underground river, considered one of the most important underground estuaries in the world, supports one of the major biodiversity areas in the Philippines.