DID FILIPINOS SPEND 2.5B PESOS FOR THE 7 NEW WONDERS OF THE WORLD SCAM ?

During the grand launch of Puerto Princesa for 7 New Wonders of the World, no less than Philippine President Noynoy Aquino encouraged his countrymen to vote for the Palawan heritage site. Citing the perceived economic benefits that would result with the distinction, President Noynoy encouraged and advised Filipinos to put in 1 billion text votes for the underground river to win. In a country where 2 billion text messages are generated in a day, the president told Filipinos that 1 billion votes would simply be half a day's work.

Now that the Puerto Princesa underground river has made the list, it is safe to assume that 1 billion text votes were indeed delivered by the Filipino people. At 2.50 pesos per text vote, the total cost of 1 billion text votes is a staggering 2.5B pesos or more than 58M US dollars. For a third world country like the Philippines, 2.5B pesos is certainly a lot of money that could have been put to better use than being channeled to an international scam like the 7 New Wonders of the World.

With 2.5B pesos down the drain and the shocking revelation that the 7 New Wonders is a scam, the Philippines most probably has become the biggest victim of an international scam in internet history.