TAGBILARAN CITY—Government officials in Bohol have lodged a formal inquiry on the removal of Chocolate Hills on the list of world destinations in the running for the new seven wonders of the world.

Bohol Gov. Erico Aumentado said the province’s officials noticed the Chocolate Hills’ removal from the list Monday morning, prompting them to file a formal inquiry with the organizers of the New Seven Wonders of the World online poll.

“The Chocolate Hills is the crowning glory of Bohol, and it has been proven by scientists to be caused by geologic events through millions of years,” Aumentado said.

Chocolate Hills and Tubbataha Reef in Palawan were two of the front-runners in the poll. The two were already starting to break into the top 10 of the voting when the Chocolate Hills was suddenly removed, Bohol officials said.

There are currently 275 nominees in the poll organized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) and the nonprofit organization New Seven Wonders Foundation.

The voting will close on December 31, 2008. The top 21 winners will be shortlisted and announced in January 2009. From this list, seven new entries will be officially announced in the summer of 2010.

The Chocolate Hills is an unusual geological formation in Bohol composed of at least 1,268 perfectly cone-shaped hills, all about the same size, spread over an area of more than 50 square kilometers.

The hills are covered with green grass that turns brown during the dry season, thus the name Chocolate Hills.

Tubbataha Reef is a coral reef on the Sulu Sea. It is a marine sanctuary protected as Tubbataha Reef National Marine Park.

The reef is composed of two atolls, North and South Reefs. Each reef has a single small islet that protrudes from the water. A deep channel that is 8 kilometers wide separates the atolls.

Over 1,000 species, including many that are endangered, can be found in the reef. These include manta rays, lionfish, tortoises, clownfish and sharks.

New7Wonders is a global movement, combining mass-media reach with global interactivity and in-market events. A traffic-leading web site and unprecedented media awareness make New7Wonders a truly unique opportunity, its organizers said in a statement.

The New7Wonders campaign is not only the first-ever global vote, but also the only election in which children can take part—a unique exercise in worldwide democracy, it added.

Bohol protests hills’ removal from new ‘Seven Wonders’ list

TAGBILARAN CITY—Government officials in Bohol have lodged a formal inquiry on the removal of Chocolate Hills on the list of world destinations in the running for the new seven wonders of the world.

THE Supreme Court (SC) has ordered the prosecution for graft of three relatives of former first lady Imelda Romualdez Marcos in connection with the behest loans obtained by their company Agretronics Inc. from the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) in 1980.

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO—The combined monitoring team of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the National Food Authority (NFA) has been conducting surprise inspections of rice warehouses since the start of the week to deter traders from hoarding the precious grain.

ZAMBOANGA CITY—The al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf bandits have resorted to petty crimes to boost the group’s resources.

THE Armed Forces has dismantled eight more guerrilla fronts of the New People’s Army (NPA) during the past three months.

THE Sandiganbayan on Wednesday set the arraignment of former justice secretary Hernando Perez and his wife, and their other coaccused, despite their petition to the Supreme Court (SC) asking that the Ombudsman be stopped from prosecuting them.

WHAT was expected to be a heated confrontation between the head of the government’s antismuggling arm and legislators turned out to be fruitful as the House and the Presidential Antismuggling Group (PASG) agreed to help each other in crafting a bill that could eradicate rampant smuggling activities that has cost the government some P120 billion in unrealized revenues annually.

THE Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IP Philippines) said Tuesday major issues raised about the Philippines by US lobby group International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA) for the evaluation of the United States Trade Representative are unfounded.