Pinoys urged to vote for Puerto Princesa Underground River

MANILA, Philippines - Vice President Jejomar Binay yesterday urged Filipinos to vote for the Puerto Princesa Underground River as one of the World’s New Seven Wonders of Nature.

Puerto Princesa’s underground river is one of the 28 finalists in the search for the New Seven Wonders of Nature.

“Please encourage your relatives, friends and every concerned Filipino to vote. This is also in support of the Aquino administration’s effort to put the Philippines in the map and bring attention to our beautiful country,” Binay said.

Voters can send their votes through Globe, Smart or Sun by texting “PPUR 15” to 2861.

Binay said the public may vote as many times as they want until Sept. 25, 2011.

The official declaration of the New Seven Wonders of Nature will be on Nov. 11, 2011 (11.11.11), which coincides with Binay’s birthday.

“This is the perfect opportunity to highlight the beauty of our country and encourage the inflow of tourists,” Binay said.

Binay said that based on the competition’s official website, the New Seven Wonders of Nature campaign started in 2007.

He said that from Dec. 2007 to July 7, 2009, over 440 locations from more than 220 countries were nominated through a national qualification and race to become one of the Top 77.

From the 77, the New Seven Wonders panel of experts supervised the selection of the 28 official candidates, which was announced on July 21, 2009.

The official New Seven Wonders of Nature is now in its third and final phase, wherein an estimated one billion people worldwide would vote for the seven finalists.