One things is for sure. The 7 New Wonders is a scam. As early as 2007, reports have been published all over the world regarding the scam by Bernie Weber of the New Open World Corporation, the company behind the 7 New Wonders.
What I find shocking and incredulous is that the Philippines and its top officials fell victims to such a pathetic money-grabbing scheme. Despite of what happened in India, Maldives, Indonesia and several other countries, the Philippines with its top officials still fell for the scam, hook, line and sinker. Even UNESCO issued a disclaimer with regards to the 7 New Wonders of the World to highlight its illegitimacy. Why then did the Philippines become an unwitting victim to such a pathetic scam ?
I think the scam worked in the Philippines primarily because Filipinos love to vote through texting. After all, the Philippines is the texting capital of the world. Second, the scam gave Filipinos the opportunity to show their sense of nationalism. Voting for the underground river in Palawan gives Filipinos the feeling that they are doing something noble and heroic for their country. Third, no less than the president and his cabinet members encouraged Filipinos to vote for the underground river as a new world wonder. The legitimacy of the whole scam was somehow validated with the endorsement of no less than the president of the country. Lastly, the tremendous desire of Filipinos to win the 25M pesos offered by the good mayor of Palawan by simply casting a vote made the scam such a magnet for millions of greedy Filipinos.
At this point, it is interesting to note that while the underground river in Palawan has made the list, it is not yet assured of being officially named one of the 7 new world wonders. The distinction is still uncertain. Most probably, the honor will be accorded to the Palawan heritage site once government officials cough up the money that the organizers will demand. Pathetic, indeed !
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