3rd spot eyed for PPUR in 'Wonders' list

MANILA, Philippines - Environment Secretary Ramon Paje is confident the Puerto Princesa Underground River (PPUR) will not be taken off the list of the New7 Wonders of Nature.

“According to (Puerto Princesa) Mayor (Edward) Hagedorn, the PPUR, if it is not first or second placer, will at least land on the third spot based on the text votes that came in for the country’s world-class natural resource,” he said.

Speaking to reporters, Paje said even if a final declaration will have to be made by the New7 Wonders Foundation early next year, the PPUR will remain among those declared as seven natural wonders of the world.

A computation secured by Edward Hagedorn showed high text votes for the PPUR, he added.

At least 24 million votes were reportedly secured by the PPUR, Paje said.

The PPUR made it as one of the world’s natural wonders based on the provisional results of a global poll to choose the New7 Wonders of Nature.

The other finalists are the Amazon rainforest, Vietnam’s Halong Bay, Argentina’s Iguazu Falls, South Korea’s Jeju Island, Indonesia’s Komodo, and South Africa’s Table Mountain, according to Bernard Weber, founder-president of New7Wonders Foundation based in Zurich, Switzerland.

The Swiss foundation said the results are based on the initial counting of votes which ended last Nov. 11.

Final results will be announced early next year, but organizers said changes are expected between the provisional winners and the final list.

More than a million votes were cast since the start of the search in 2007 to trim the list of more than 440 contenders down to a shortlist of 77.

The number of contenders was then further cut to the 28 finalists before the final seven provisional winners.

The votes were cast through text messages and the Internet.

Paje likewise clarified that no payment was made by the government to be able to join in the campaign for the New 7 Wonders of Nature.

“It is one of our global successes,” he said.

“We just hope that it won’t be tainted or become a subject of controversy.

“The Almighty wrought this masterpiece of nature, but we thank our people for its election as one of the seven best among the many wonders that nature has scattered all over our planet.”