Viva, Vigan!

The heritage city of Vigan up north needs your support, wherever you may be—here in the country, or elsewhere in the world. This evocative capital city of Ilocos Sur is among the 28 cities around the world that remain in the running for one of the “New7Wonders Cities.” And it is the only Philippine city in the race.

Organized by the Swiss nonprofit organization New7Wonders Foundation, the competition began with 77 cities nominated by voters from around the world. The nominations were evaluated by a panel that included a former Unesco (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) head, an Iraqi-British architect, a think-tank head from the Netherlands, and four other experts. It was this panel that chose the 28 current contenders.

Now this is where your support comes in: Which cities will stay in competition is determined by the votes cast from around the world on the Website www.new7wonders.com. The 28 contenders will be winnowed down to 21 on July 7, then to 14 on Oct. 7. The winning seven cities will be announced on Dec. 7, 2014.

Needless to say, time is of the essence. Vigan needs all the votes it can get in this, its latest bid to bring yet another honor to the country. So all Filipinos are called on to register on the website and keep on voting.

Vigan deserves the award. Known for its old world charm and Spanish colonial architecture, Vigan has already earned many honors for the Philippines. In 1999, Unesco named Vigan a World Heritage city. In 2012, Vigan beat out 28 other cities in 23 countries for Unesco’s “Best Practice in World Heritage Site Management” award, with the judges citing “good management practice in spite of limited resources, making (its example) adaptable in other countries.”

“Vigan is an exceptionally intact and well-preserved example of an European trading town in East and South-East Asia,” says one comment from a voter featured on www.new7wonders.com. Another one that is particularly apt: “Vigan shows unique fascinated views that tell a thousand words. Most cities in the top 28 are Modern but Vigan is another flavor.”

The truth is that there is no way of keeping track of how Vigan is doing in the New7Wonders Cities competition, except through the foundation’s announcements. The Vigan proponents have posted a statement from the foundation on their Facebook page that reads: “emerging cities such as Vigan, Shenzhen (China) and Quito (Ecuador) have seen improvements… But [they] are by no means in the ‘safe’ zone yet, especially as previous experience indicates changes up to the last minute.” Clearly every vote counts and Vigan needs them now.

Vigan has brought its campaign to the social media. Said Ilocos Sur provincial information officer Mike Escobar: “We have taken this platform to flood our audience with promotional materials.”

“As the lone nominee from the Philippines, let this be a journey where every Filipino shall join hands to bring pride to our country. Let us go beyond the border of our nation to achieve our goal,” said Vigan Mayor Eva Marie Medina at the Vigan New7Wonders Cities campaign launch last month. Medina has asked for the government’s assistance to aggressively push Vigan’s campaign. Vigan needs all the help it can get.

We already know what a New7Wonders Cities award can do. It can boost tourism, a major revenue-earner, as the Puerto Princesa Underground River in Palawan has shown. And it was the New7Wonders Foundation that named the Underground River one of the New7Wonders of Nature in 2011. The “(inclusion of Puerto Princesa) intensified the entire country’s reputation as a top global destination. It brought economic gains to a cross-section of Philippine society,” Medina stated in her letter to Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma.

Let’s do the little we can to celebrate the character and the potential of Vigan and more: Let’s vote for Vigan on the New7Wonders site. Let’s do it now. For Vigan! For the Philippines!