Four Philippine nature sites, or "wonders," have managed to land in the top 10 of a list of 77 nominees in a search for the "Seven Wonders of Nature." From these 77 nominees will be named a short list of 21, and from that the magic seven will be chosen.
We don't know how the seven will eventually be chosen. What we do know is that to stay on the list of 77, and then later to make the short list of 21, popular voting will be among the processes by which nominees can make the various lists.
And just what is popular voting? Popular voting means people can vote for their choices on the survey's official website (www.new7wonders.com). It is for this reason that the four Philippine sites made it to the top 10. Filipinos are vaunted for their so-called online power.
The four Philippine sites are the unique Chocolate Hills of Bohol, the amazing Tubbataha Reef off Palawan, the awe-inspiring Subterranean River National Park of Puerto Princesa, and the majestic Mayon Volcano of Albay.
Any of these four sites can make it to the magic seven. And if that happens, if even just one qualifies to be recognized as among the seven wonders of nature, that should make all of us Filipinos immensely proud.
But let the recognition be based on real, qualified, and unquestionable merit. Let it not come on the strength of Filipino online power alone. National solidarity for a cause is one thing, while winning on sheer quantity to the exclusion of quality is another.
There are times when numbers should be relevant only up to a point. There are times when, once that point is reached, someone or something must proceed only on the basis of inherent strength.
That is how such an important search as this one should be conducted. No victory leaves a "badder" taste in the mouth or a hollower feeling in the chest than the one undeservedly earned.