PPUR Officially Included in the New7Wonders

The people of Palawan and the whole Philippines are glad to hear the news that the Puerto Princesa Underground River, or PPUR, is officially included in the new seven wonders of nature. This news was announced by New7Wonders founder and president, Bernard Weber in a meeting in Manila. Included in the meeting are Puerto Princesa City Mayor Ed Hagedorn, New7Wonders Director Jean-Paul de la Fuente and PPUR campaign director Nardz Villafranca.

In November last year, PPUR was listed in the New7Wonders provisional list, which made some people think that PPUR might still be removed when the “New Seven Wonders of Nature” is announced. The announcement made by Weber finally removed those doubts.
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Puerto Princesa Underground River (PPUR).

Vigorous Campaigns for PPUR

The inclusion of PPUR to the final list of seven wonders is the result of the vigorous campaigns made by the government and the private sector. Various national government agencies, like the DENR and the DOT lead the campaign for the PPUR. Telecommunication companies provided the prize money for the “PPUR May Pera sa Kweba” text raffle contest.

Puerto Princesa Mayor Ed Hagedorn, President Noynoy Aquino, and showbiz celebrities also helped in promoting the PPUR to the public.

Big Help to Philippine Tourism

The Department of Tourism (DOT) is confident that the inclusion of PPUR to the seven wonders will boost the country’s tourism. The New7Wonders campaign is an international campaign that gave PPUR a worldwide exposure. DOT hopes that the tourists attracted by the PPUR will also be attracted to other tourist spots of the Philippines.

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Info for this post obtained from GMA News.

Mother from Bulacan is the first PPUR Millionaire

It was blessed day for a mother of three when she received the news that she won 1 million pesos from the “Pera sa Kweba” text raffle. Marites Balagtas, who is the text raffle’s first millionaire, was awarded the facsimile of 1 million cheque by the Task Force PPUR at Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife Center in Quezon City. 

The “Pera sa Kweba” text raffle was initiated by the private sector to promote the Puerto Princesa Underground River (PPUR) in Palawan. The three telecom giants in the Philippines; namely Globe, Sun and Smart; gave 25 million pesos in prizes for the PPUR text raffle. PPUR was recently included in the provisional list of New7Wonders Foundation.

The 1 million-peso prize came at the right time for Marites as her son was stricken with dengue. Her husband, who is a pedicab driver, is ill for several days. Their house was also flooded during the onslaught of Typhoon Pedring. Marites said that she will invest her 1 million-pesos prize for the education of her children and for the building of a small house.

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Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Ramon Paje said that the text raffle for the PPUR is extended until December 30, 2011. The grand prize is 25 million pesos that is why he urged the public to continue texting. Aside from the grand prize, there are still five 1 million pesos consolation prizes that are at stake for the PPUR text raffle.

Anyone can join the PPUR text raffle by typing the word PPUR then send to 2861 for all network. Each text costs 2.50 pesos.

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Good News: PPUR Among the 7 New Wonders

The online and TV campaigns done by the Philippine government paid off as the Puerto Princesa Underground River (PPUR) was included in the provisional list of the New7Wonders Foundation. Other nature spots included in the New7Wonders provisional list are the Amazon Rainforest, Halong Bay (Vietnam), Iguazu Falls (Argentina), Jeju Island (South Korea), Table Mountain (South Africa).

New7Wonders foundation cited that the given list is provisional. Voting calculation is still being checked and the final list will be announced in 2012 during the Official Inauguration ceremonies. This announcement made by the New7Wonders foundation still places the PPUR and other nature spots in uncertain position because it is not known how the voting calculation will affect the results.

The New7Wonders Foundation is a Swiss foundation founded in 2001 by the filmmaker Bernard Zurich. New7Wonders was inspired by the “7 Wonders of the Ancient World” attributed to Philon of Byzantium.

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Puerto Princesa Underground River (PPUR).

The New7Wonders list started with 440 nature spots located in about 220 countries. The list was trimmed to 77 then to 28 by a panel of experts. Worldwide poll was then opened for the shortlist of 28 nature spots.  Anyone in the world was allowed to vote via telephone, text messaging and online social networks.

The Philippine government and the City Government of Puerto Princesa had been campaigning vigorously for PPUR in the past months. The aim is to boost the tourism industry in Palawan and give more exposure to PPUR.

The Department of Tourism (DOT), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and other national government agencies participated in promoting the PPUR for the New7Wonders list. Three telecommunication companies; Globe, Smart, and Sun; showed their support by offering 25 million pesos prize in the grand raffle draw for those who will vote PPUR via text.

Puerto Princesa mayor Ed Hagedorn is confident that PPUR will be included in the New7Wonders list days before the provisional was revealed. He said that other contenders doesn't have text messaging campaigns unlike the one in PPUR. He believes that this is the advantage of PPUR over other contenders in the New7Wonders.

Well, it seems like being the texting capital of the world has an advantage after all.

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Image of PPUR came from Puerto Princesa government website.