IN just a month, the Puerto Princesa Underground River in Palawan could be named one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature, an accolade that could bring tremendous economic, social and tourism benefits to the Philippines. Already a Unesco World Heritage Site, the underground river which is in barangay Sabang, 81 kilometers north of the city, has been voted one of the final 28 sites for the New 7 Wonders of Nature campaign, a contest which aims to attract more than 1 billion votes from 220 nations across the world.
Mayor Edward Hagedorn has been aggressively campaigning and exhorting Filipinos in the country and abroad to vote for the underground river as it faces stiff competition from other admired sites, such as the Island of Maldives, the Amazon in South America, the Dead Sea in Israel, the Grand Canyon in North America, among other sites.
Known as the Philippines’ last biodiversity frontier, Palawan, which hosts the underground river, is blessed with the breathtaking beauty with its white-sand beaches, lush forest, wildlife parks and natural wonders.
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The underground river, also known as the St. Paul or Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park, is an 8.2-kilometer navigable underground river that runs beneath the limestone karst mountain that flows directly into the South China Sea. It is believed to be the longest underground river in Asia.
Navigating the complex underground river, one can see visible formations of stalactites and stalagmites that have developed over 20 million years.
Among the many wonders of nature, the underground river needs to win the honor to be included in the next seven new wonders of nature, Hagedorn said. With only a month to go, it needs to garner support as the voting closes on November 11, 2011.
No other than President Aquino has been encouraging Filipinos to vote by texting PPUR to 2861 to push the country’s only entry to the worldwide campaign as a way to elevate the Philippines’ status as top international destination.
The Switzerland-based New7Wonders Foundation has challenged the nations who hosted the 28 candidate sites with a two-year campaign to attract enough votes to win the title. The contest aims to raise awareness of the incredible variety and beauty of nature in the planet.
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Massive tourism boost
ACCORDING to Puerto Princesa Tourism Officer Rebecca Labit, there are many excellent reasons to vote for the underground river as one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature, which was recently explored by Italian geologists, the La Venta Geographical Association.
Among the reasons for the wonder of the underground river, Labit said, are: being its largest and important underground estuaries of the world; most complex cave systems in the world; naturally sustainable due to the very high amount of energy resulting from its unique thermal equator location, marine climate, wind and humidity; it contains unique cave formations from secondary mineral deposits not found elsewhere; discovery of a 20 million-year-old fossil of sirenia or sea cow in perfect condition.
“These reasons, aside from the tremendous economic, social and tourism benefits the underground river brings to the country, are excellent reasons we should stand up as Filipinos and be proud to campaign and vote for its inclusion in the new wonders of nature,” Labit added. “With the deadline quickly closing in, this is the opportunity that the Philippines can’t ignore.”
Labit said the country could expect a massive boost in tourism revenue, brand value and job generation not only for Puerto Princesa but for the whole country. She said the underground river is now ranked second among the 28 site candidates.
Underground river boat guide Ricardo Mansera said local people like him will benefit from the site’s recognition once it is heralded as one of the new wonders of nature.
“It will surely uplift the lives of people in the area because of the jobs it will give to us. We can have more organized jobs in the underground river as boat guides or be employed at the hotels around Puerto,” Mansera said.
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Hotel and resort owner Ruben Tan projects that with the influx of tourists in Puerto Princesa, entrepreneurs will have to upgrade their services and increase hotel rooms and facilities in the coming years.
“Tourism and business will likely boom in the coming years, especially if the underground river will be included in the list. We are very careful in upgrading our services and facilities in an environment-friendly manner to serve local and foreign tourists alike,” said Tan, who owns the Daluyon Beach and Mountain Resort near the underground river, as well as the Puerto Pension bed and breakfast in the city.
A great chance
WHILE President Aquino, Hagedorn and other government officials believed that the underground river has a great chance of making it into the top 7, Filipinos in the country and abroad need to back this crusade by voting through text.
In an effort to involve more people in the campaign, even the telecommunications companies—Globe Inc., Smart Communications Inc. and Sun Cellular—have joined forces with the government in supporting the underground river through the text campaign.
Launched a week ago, Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo, who leads the PPUR-New 7 Wonders of Nature, has introduced the “Pera sa Kuweba!” promo to intensify its campaign. The promo, which can give a chance for a texter to win the P25-million grand prize, runs until December 28, 2011. Other texters may win daily, biweekly and monthly prizes.
Puerto Princesa Vice Mayor Lucilo Bayron said the benefit of having the PPUR included in the top seven will have far-reaching effects for the country as a whole.
“While there are great wonders of nature in the world, the underground river is truly remarkable, breathtakingly beautiful and highly worthy of our votes to be included in the new 7 wonders of nature. It will surely boost our tourism industry,” Bayron said. Department of Tourism data shows that a total of 3.52 million people visited the country last year who spent $2.49 billion, an increase of 16 percent from 2009.
Last year around 425,000 tourists visited the underground river. It is expecting some 550,000 visitors this year.
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