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.

Confirmed! Lolong is the World's Longest Croc

BREAKING NEWS: Guiness Book of World Record declared Lolong as the largest crocodile in captivity. Read more about this news here.

The people of Bunawan had finally received the good news. Lolong is now considered as the longest saltwater crocodile in the whole world. He dethroned the Australian crocodile, Cassius, from the top 1 of the “longest crocodile” list.

The confirmation was made last week when the Australian zoologist and croc expert Dr. Adam Britton measured Lolong inside his pen in the town of Bunawan, Agusan del Sur. Dr. Britton lead the team from National Geographic that are shooting a documentary about Lolong.

The measurement of Lolong is 21 feet and one inch, while Cassius measures just 18 feet long. Lolong weighs 1,075 kilograms according to Dr. Britton.

Lolong was captured last September after it was suspected that a crocodile ate a fisherman and a schoolgirl. The saltwater crocodile was named after Ernesto “Lolong” Coñate, who died before his the saltwater crocodile was captured in the Agusan Marsh.

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Lolong as he was captured last September.

Lolong to be Published in Guinness

The National Geographic team will send their official measurements to the Guinness Book of World records. However, Lolong has to wait for six months before he can be published in Guinness. That is the Guinness rules according to Britton.

The mayor of Bunawan is expecting that Lolong’s publication in Guinness Book of World Records will boost the tourism industry in the municipality. According to the mayor, Lolong already earned around 500 million pesos from donations and entrance and parking fees at the Bunawan Eco-Park and Research Center.

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Pacquiao vs Marques Boxing Stats

Many people say the Manny Pacquiao will emerge as the victor in the upcoming Pacquiao vs Marques fight in November 12. Few people, however, are still rooting for Juan Miguel “Dinamita” Marques and they claim that Pacquiao will be stunned by the punches coming from the Mexican boxer.

So what is the real deal? I believe that we should look at the stats of Pacquiao and Marques to see who is at the advantage. Here is their “stats” or their “Tale of the Tape.”

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(Source: Fight Saga)

As we can see, the stats between the boxers almost matched. However, Manny Pacquiao is younger than Marques. The Mexican boxer, on the other hand, is taller by an inch than Pacquiao. Manny Pacquiao is faster and can throw a flurry of punches. Marques, on the other hand, is said to be more experienced than the two.

So, who will win this fight this time? Well, I guess must wait for the conclusion of the Pacquiao vs Marques fight this weekend to know who is greater between the boxers.

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