RP's Underground River, Coral Triangle included in search for New 7 Wonders

MANILA, Philippines - The “Underground River" in Palawan province and Coral Triangle were chosen to represent the Philippines in the global search for New 7 Wonders of Nature as they qualified to the second round of the online voting. The New7Wonders Foundation announced Wednesday that the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River won in the national qualifiers for the Philippines, while the Coral Triangle was declared a multination participant to the search, which is shared by six countries in Asia, including the Philippines. “These magnificent natural sites, (which) are amongst the 261 nominees, (are) now one step closer to potentially being chosen one of the Official New7Wonders of Nature by the people of the world. Of the original 441 nominees, 180, or more than 40 percent, were eliminated as the next stage begins," the contest organizer said in a statement. Tia Viering, head of communications for New7Wonders, said online voting in the next level of the three-stage competition continues until July 7 this year to select the Top 77, from which the 21 Official Finalists to the New 7 Wonders of Nature would be chosen. “We congratulate the successful qualifying locations from the Philippines and wish them the best of luck in the second phase of voting," Viering noted. “We also at this time highlight the strong and enthusiastic participation of the other national nominees that are not proceeding - many have already benefited from a significant increase in worldwide awareness, which in itself is a recognized important benefit for all involved in the New7Wonders campaigns," Viering added. The qualified 261 national and multinational nominees from the 222 participating countries feature iconic locations such as the Grand Canyon, Loch Ness, the Black Forest, and Mount Fuji, alongside the Amazon, the Danube, the Dead Sea, the Great Barrier Reef, Iguazu Falls, the Kalahari Desert, Mont Blanc, and Niagara Falls. As in the original successful campaign that chose the Official New 7 Wonders of the World, the New7Wonders Panel of Experts will select the 21 Finalists from the Top 77, which will be announced on July 21, the organizer said. At that time, it also said, the third and final phase of voting will begin, and the people of the world will then have approximately two years to vote from among the 21 Finalists for the Official New7Wonders of Nature, which would be revealed in 2011. Meanwhile, the Filipino national nominees that did not qualify to the second phase are: Tubbataha Reef, Chocolate Hills, Mayon Volcano, Hundred Islands National Park, Mount Pinatubo, and Taal Volcano. As of December 24, the country’s Puerto Princesa Subterranean River was ranked No. 1 while Tubbataha Reef ranked 3rd, Chocolate Hills located in Bohol province ranked No. 5, Mayon Volcano in Albay province is ranked No. 11, Mt. Pinatubo in Zambales and Hundred Islands National Park in Pangasinan is ranked No. 31 and No. 28, respectively. The first phase of the search of the New 7 Wonders of Nature wrapped up last December 31. Votes were cast through the website. The non-profit New7Wonders Foundation, which also undertook the “New Seven Wonders of the World" search that was rounded up in 2007, said that through this contest, it aims to undertake documentation and conservation works of monuments worldwide under the motto, “Our Heritage is Our Future." - GMANews.TV