Puerto Princesa Underground River

Puerto Princesa Underground River (PPUR) was voted as one of the New7Wonders of Nature on 11.11.11. It has brought great honour not only to the City of Puerto Princesa, the province of Palawan, but to the entire Philippines. In 2014, Presidential Proclamation No. 816 declared that November 11 as Puerto Princesa Underground River Day (PPUR Day).

 

PPUR DAY 2015 Celebration

Spearheaded by the people’s mayor, Mayor Lucilo Bayron, the City of Puerto Princesa celebrated the PPUR Day 2015. The Grand Costume and Dancing Parade commenced at 3pm along Fernandez Street towards Baywalk. Participants from various sectors such as schools, NGOs, government offices dressed up in colorful costumes for the costume and dance competition. This year’s theme is “From the Jungle to the City” so we see various interpretation of dances of bats, peacock-pheasants, monkeys, etc. I’m very impressed with the energy and effort of Puerto Princesa’s locals in their participation. It is not far fetched that with more experience, the festival will be comparable to Cebu’s Sinulog.

 

 

 

 

 

 

As part of the celebration, the Puerto Princesa Tourism Office held an SMS contest called “Bonggang Bakasyon”. In this, 10 winners plus 1 guest each are treated to a Bonggang Bakasyon (Spectacular Vacation) in Puerto Princesa, cash prizes any other gifts.  I was invited as part of the media and had an amazing time experiencing Puerto Princesa’s treasure for the first time.

 

 

After the performance of the Puerto Princesa Tourism Office, we marched behind them to Baywalk where there’s a huge stage where everyone gathered. It was there where everyone responsible for the event were acknowledged and thanked. The awarding of prizes and some musical performances by dance troops and bands. Here the mayor gave an inspiring speech thanking all those who made the event successful. I had the chance to talk to many people during my short visit, and I’m super impressed how every sector: local government, the businessmen, the people are very united in working together to make Puerto Princesa a great city.  Finally, a beautiful firework show capped the night’s program.