Vote for Tubbataha in ‘New Seven Wonders of Nature’ poll

http://www.new7wonders.com/nature/en/liveranking/
MANILA, Philippines -- Senator Pia S. Cayetano on Saturday asked Filipinos worldwide to vote for the famed Tubbataha Reefs of Palawan in the ongoing worldwide search for the "New Seven Wonders of Nature."

Cayetano, who chairs the Senate Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, said the Tubbataha Reefs is the only Philippine natural wonder nominated to the worldwide online poll available at http://www.new7wonders.com/nature/en/liveranking/.

"This global search may not be as popular or glamorous as American Idol where a Filipino-American candidate is deservingly making waves, but the lone Philippine entry to the New Seven Wonders also deserves the support of all Filipinos here and abroad," she said in a press statement.

Cayetano is pressing the alarm in light of the slipping position of Tubbataha in the search's live rankings. She said Tubbataha, today ranked 33 among the Top 77 official candidates for the New Seven Wonders of Nature, slipping five rungs from its 28th ranking just on February 14.

She said Filipinos can still vote for Tubbataha until December 31, 2008, after which the top 77 nominees will be submitted to a panel of experts that will put together a shortlist of 21 finalists by January 2009.

A second round of popular voting for the 21 finalists will then ensue and last until the end of 2009 -- with the top seven nominees being officially declared the "New Seven Wonders of the World" by the year 2010.

The list of nominees and the mechanics for voting are posted on the poll's official website www.new7wonders.com. The search is organized by the Unesco (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) and the non-profit New Seven Wonders Foundation, which also undertook the "New Seven Wonders of the World" search that ended last year.

Other famous natural wonders nominated to the search are: Mt. Everest of Nepal, Amazon River and Amazon Forest of South America, Niagara Falls of North America, Grand Canyon of the United States, Galapagos Islands of Ecuador, Great Barrier Reef of Australia, Mt. Kilimanjaro of Tanzania, Mount Blanc (more popularly known as the "Alps") of France and Italy, among others.