Tags: Environment, Natural Wonders
By Alexander Villafania
PUERTO PRINCESA, PALAWAN – With just one more day to go before the official announcement of the New Seven Wonders of the Nature (N7WN), several government offices led by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) are making a further push to get more people to vote for the Puerto Princesa Underground River (PPUR).
In a press conference, Environment Secretary Ramon Paje appealed to Filipinos to continuously vote for the PPUR by voting through text or by visiting the official N7WN website or the PPUR official site.
As part of the campaign, Paje announced that discovery of a new mineral, identified as serrabrancaite, which was found by crystallographer Dr. Paolo Forti from the Italian La Venta Geographical Association.
Serrabrancaite was found in an inlet of the PPUR and has never been found in caves. It is said to be formed by mineralization of droppings from bats and seabirds, which is commonly called guano.
The new mineral puts to 11 the number of minerals found in PPUR, more than half of what is commonly found in caves. Robersite and janggunite are two other unique minerals that were previously found.
The inclusion of the PPUR in the N7WN list could have positive effects for the Philippines. For one, the PPUR could spur to further scientific researches into the cave systems. It could also encourage tourism in Palawan.
The campaign to put the Philippines in the list has been such that the government has worked with the private sector to encourage voting. Among its partners are Smart Communications and Globe Telecoms for a text voting project.
This led to the “Pera sa Kweba” text promo which is giving away up to P30 million in prizes, with the biggest prize being P25 million to a single text voter.
The Philippines is competing with 28 other locations that are being considered as part of the N7WN. Among these are the Amazon River in South America, Angel Falls in Venezuela, Canada’s Bay of Fundy, Germany’s Black Forest, Israel’s Dead Sea, the Island of Maldives, Mt. Vesuvius in Italy, Indonesia’s Komodo Island, among others.
The voting will end on November 11.
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