Puerto Princesa Underground river wins in New 7 Wonders of the world Poll!

**Ry_Tower** · November 12th, 2011 06:42 PM

Originally Posted by uls

New7Wonders of Nature

it's a racket

depende yan kung maglalabas ka ng pera o hinde

so Palawan govt, you gonna pay them to stay on the list?

Yes from what I've learned may pressure nga. Kaya Feb 2012 pa daw final result. IMO there is no need to pay just t be included in the list, just the achievement up to this point is enough mileage. No need to use taxpayers money for it. Although corrpution in some level may push for some "funds" to be released that's for sure.

*111prez: From what I know, Don Pepito Alvarez is indeed creating an international airport in North of Palawan for both the San Vicente Long Beach and the increasing tourism at El Nido. This is supposed to have direct flights from Taiwan, Korea and Japan. Constructon is on the way. Hope it is as good as advertised.

**renzo_d10** · November 12th, 2011 07:22 PM

Sana naman yung NAIA ang bigyang pansin.

Sure, making it to the 7 wonders of nature is something that we should be proud of, but knowing the fact that our airport is being laughed at, kaya pa kaya talaga natin ipagyabang ang Philippines as a whole?

**yebo** · November 12th, 2011 08:48 PM

an american friend of mine had been to puerto princesa city twice (on the way to el nido for some scuba diving), and he described puerto princesa as "a city full of corrupt people". i don't know why he said it but he must have a reason why, and i did not ask why because i have never been there. the way i know him he is not one to be biased about anything. btw, he said this while i was reading an article about the PPUR on abs-cbnnews.com and was about to vote for it. he must have seen the hair on the back of my head stood up cause he said "sorry buddy, just saying what i think". what am i to say but "no need for apologies bro, i know what my country is like".

and that is why i did not vote for the PPUR.

**CVT** · November 14th, 2011 08:18 AM

The last time I was there was early this year. Still no improvement.

The road leading to the site still has unpaved portions. Waiting for your turn for the boat ride is still very painful/inconvenient as everybody's waiting and crowding at the mouth of the underground river.

I was talking to one of the city's government officials and have suggested that they build small huts with seats leading from the underground river, so that everybody(per ride) on queue for the boat ride will just transfer from one hut to the next one, until it is their turn for the boat ride. They can put in pipe-in music and ads on these huts, which can mean more revenue for the city.....

14.4K:out:

**Ry_Tower** · November 14th, 2011 11:14 AM

Sana may makabasa na taga-Palawan gov't dito para may mas maganda pang improvements.

Kung privatized park kaya mas maganda pa siguro level of convenience and amenities!

**Monseratto** · December 12th, 2011 03:37 PM

Originally Posted by uls

New7Wonders of Nature

it's a racket

depende yan kung maglalabas ka ng pera o hinde

so Palawan govt, you gonna pay them to stay on the list?

New 7 Wonders of Nature contest tagged as a scam; UK newspaper backs allegations of Maldives, Indonesia
Published: Nov 15, 2011 - 10:14am

GMA News Online reports that "The New Seven Wonders of Nature" contest, where the Puerto Princesa Underground River snagged a spot, "is now embroiled in a controversy involving millions of dollars in allegedly 'surprise' fees."

GMA News Online, citing UK newspaper The Guardian, pointed out that the governments of Maldives and Indonesia "withdrew their respective entries from the contest and accused organizers of forcing them to pay up to $500,000 or P21.6 million."

In an email to GMA News Online, New7Wonders Foundation spokesperson Eamonn Fitzgerald denounced the allegations as baseless. “The key word here is ‘allegedly,’" he wrote.

Meanwhile, a post written by a former lawyer based in the U.S. on his blog Go, See, Write reveals some very unsettling details about the "The New 7 Wonders" tilt. Among the details discussed is the man who conceptualized it—Bernard Weber, a "self-described filmmaker, aviator, and adventurer." Bottom line: Webber is accused of being a "scam artist."

In light of the controversy, GMA News Online sought the opinion of Department Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Jesse Robredo, who led the task force campaigning for the Palawan tourist attraction. Robredo said the allegations are "ridiculous." He emphasized that the Philippine govenment did not cough up astronomical fees for "The New 7 Wonders of Nature" tilt.

According to the GMA News Online report, "the Philippine government expects the new status of the Puerto Princesa Underground River to boost tourism, with President Noynoy Aquino himself having spearheaded the campaign."

New 7 Natural Wonders of the World: The Scam Behind the Sham

Each country that wanted to have a natural wonder considered for this contest had to submit a $200 entry fee. Their natural wonder was then included in the process of winnowing down by voting and experts narrowing down the list. Not much money to be had, right?

Wrong. That entry fee was just a drop in the bucket.

In recent months, it has finally come to light what sort of financial extortion Bernie has been attempting, and likely succeeding at in some cases, since so many countries are desperate in these economic times to give a boast to their county’s tourism income.

Maldives

The Maldives pulled out in May, after receiving requests from NOWC including ‘sponsorship fees’ (‘platinum’ at US$350,000, or two ‘gold’ at US$210,000 each) and financing a ‘World Tour’ event whereby the Maldives would pay for a delegation of people to visit the country, provide hot air balloon rides, press trips, flights, accommodation and communications. According to tourism authorities in the Maldives, these services would amount to a total cost to the country’s economy of over US$500,000.

NOWC also attempted to charge Maldives telecom provider Dhiraagu US$1 million for the right to participate in the New7Wonders campaign – approximately US$3 for every citizen in the Maldives – a fee that was dropped to half a million when the company complained about the price.

Indonesia

NOWC reportedly demanded US$10 million in licensing fees from tourism authorities in Indonesia, which had fielded the Komodo national park as a wonder, and required that it foot an estimated US$35 million bill to host the final announcement event.

In February this year, the Jakarta Post reported the country’s Tourism Minister Jero Wacik as stating that the Ministry had received a letter on December 29, 2010 claiming that NOWC would “suspend” Komodo from the list of finalists if it refused to pay the US$10 million license fee.

After Indonesia threatened to sue Weber and his organizations, NOWC relented and left Komodo Island on the ballot. Now that Komodo Island was declared one of the winners, I’d think they have successfully avoided a potentially costly lawsuit that might have also opened up NOWC’s books for public examination.

Interesting.

Why isn’t an official body like UNESCO hosting this event? That would at least take this putrid specter of one person profiting off the backs of these countries out of this scam. In fact, the New7Wonders has the gaul to have a link on their website implying that the U.N. supports this bogus organization.

UNESCO took such offense with Weber’s continued claims that the U.N. and UNESCO supported his efforts that they issued a specific release disavowing any ties with Bernie or his New7Wonders organization.

'UNESCO wishes to reaffirm that there is no link whatsoever between UNESCO’s World Heritage programme, which aims to protect world heritage, and the current campaign concerning “The New 7 Wonders of the World”…"

There is no comparison between Mr Weber’s mediatised campaign and the scientific and educational work resulting from the inscription of sites on UNESCO’s World Heritage List*. The list of the “7 New Wonders of the World” will be the result of a private undertaking, reflecting only the opinions of those with access to the internet and not the entire world. This initiative cannot, in any significant and sustainable manner, contribute to the preservation of sites elected by this public.

If this was Smell-o-Vision you could get a much better visceral feel for what UNESCO thinks about the whole New 7 Wonders scam. Their disgust just oozes from their press release.

As it should.

**uls** · December 12th, 2011 04:13 PM

from the article above:

In light of the controversy, GMA News Online sought the opinion of Department Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Jesse Robredo, who led the task force campaigning for the Palawan tourist attraction. Robredo said the allegations are "ridiculous." He emphasized that the Philippine govenment did not cough up astronomical fees for "The New 7 Wonders of Nature" tilt.

ya... "did not cough up astronomical fees"

kasi di pa humuhingi yung New7Wonders Foundation