El Nido Palawan Island is now the island in the world Over Maldives and Islands in Hawaii?

Rugged beauty: Palawan is a popular base for island-hopping tourists. Photo: dailymail.co.uk

The best island in the world! Travellers vote the little-known Philippines outcrop of Palawan as the most exotic on Earth

• Palawan claimed top spot based on over 76,000 votes in Conde Nast Traveler’s Readers’ Choice Awards for 2014
• It was largely thanks to the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River, one of the top natural wonders of the world
• At nearly five miles in length, Puerto Princesa is the second longest subterranean river in the world

 

An island that boasts crystal clear waters, incredible beaches and one of the newest natural wonders of the world has been named the best in the world by readers of a leading travel magazine.

The idyllic island of Palawan in the Philippines claimed top spot based on over 76,000 votes in Conde Nast Traveler’s Readers’ Choice Awards for 2014.

And it’s largely thanks to its latest claim to fame: Puerto Princesa Subterranean River, a Unesco World Heritage Site, has been named one of the world’s best natural wonders.

Stunning: Palawan Island in the Philippines has been named the top island in Conde Nast Traveler’s Readers’ Choice Awards. Photo: dailymail.co.uk

Puerto Princesa Subterranean River, a Unesco World Heritage Site, has been named one of the world’s best natural wonders. Photo: dailymail.co.uk

 

Best in the world: The idyllic island of Palawan claimed top spot based on over 76,000 votes. Photo: dailymail.co.uk

 

Undersea adventures: Palawan is home to some of the best locations for snorkelling and diving.  Photo: dailymail.co.uk

At nearly five miles in length, Puerto Princesa is the longest underground river in Asia and the second longest in the world.

Visitors on guided boat tours travel through a subterranean cave system featuring large chambers, stalactites and stalagmites. 

Home to amazing locations for snorkelling and diving, Palawan province has a second Unesco World Heritage Site that is popular spot for undersea adventurers –Tubbataha Reef National Marine Park.

Palawan's beauty and thrilling outdoor or undersea adventures are no secret to the world.

It was once named of the best islands in the world by National Geographic Traveler.

Getting there isn't too difficult by air - the average flight lasts around 75 minutes - but a ride on a ferry boat takes around 24 hours. 

The island is known as the Philippines' 'last frontier' because it is part of the far western Palawan province, with its southern tip just north of Malaysia.

Palawan Island edged some of the most popular destinations in the world for top spot on the list of the world's 30 best islands.

Breath-taking: Tourists walk on a beach as a rainbow forms in the background. Photo: dailymail.co.uk

At nearly five miles in length, Puerto Princesa is the longest underground river in Asia and the second longest in the world. Photo: dailymail.co.uk

Palawan edged some of the most popular destinations in the world to claim top spot on the list of the world's 30 best islands. Photo: dailymail.co.uk

Tourists can reach Palawan by plane or ferry with flights from Manila lasting just 75 minutes. Photo: dailymail.co.uk

Kiawah Island, South Carolina, came in second, followed by the islands of Maui and Kauai in Hawaii. Bazaruto Archipelago in Mozambique rounded out the top five.

Sixth through tenth were Great Barrier Reef and Whitsunday Islands in Australia, Santorini and Cyclades in Greece, St. John in the US Virgin Islands, Kangaroo Island in Australia, and Big Island in Hawaii.

None of the UK’s islands managed to crack the top 30. - Mail Online

 

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Philippines' biggest wind farm to be completed by November –EDC

 

PHL's biggest wind farm to be completed by November –EDC

The Philippines will have its largest wind farm once geothermal and renewable energy producer Energy Development Corp. completes the 150-MW Burgos Wind Project in Ilocos Norte by end-November.

 

"We are targeting to complete the 150-MW [wind farm] by end-November 2014," EDC executive vice president Ernesto Pantangco told GMA News Online in a text message.

 

Groundbreaking for the Burgos Wind Project took place in April 2013 while the Construction for the initial 87 MW capacity of the wind farm started in June 2013.

 

The company recently closed a $315-million loan from foreign and local banks for the completion of the wind farm project.

 

By the time it is completed, the Burgos Wind Project will be the largest wind farm in the Philippines, with a total of 50 large-scale Vestas V90-3.0MW wind turbines and an ancillary plant to be supplied and constructed by global wind turbine manufacturer Vestas.

 

 

The project is also one of the largest investments to date in Ilocos Norte as it occupies a 600 hectare site covering three barangays, namely, Saoit, Poblacion and Nagsurot, in Burgos, Ilocos Norte.

 

Once it starts operations, the project will provide 370 GWh of electricity to power approximately 2 million households, EDC president and COO Richard Tantoco said in a statement.

 

"We also will displace about 200,000 tons of carbon emissions annually,” he added.

 

The end-November target is for the company to be the first to avail of the Feed-In-Tariff, which the Department of Energy (DOE) will grant to 200 MW of wind projects on a "first to commission, first served" basis, Tantoco said.

 

Under the FIT system pursuant to the Renewable Energy Act of 2008, the Energy Regulatory Commission will give guaranteed payments on a fixed rate per kilowatt-hour—called FIT rates—for power producers harnessing renewable energy.

 

"With construction in full swing, we are confident that we will meet our target commissioning date and avail of the Feed-in-Tariff,” Tantoco said.

 

Source: TJD, GMA News

 

 

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Solar News - 9TV rebrands as CNN Philippines for 5 years

Yahoo Southeast Asia Newsroom - CNN arrives in the Philippines. - Image: manilastandardtoday.com

9TV rebrands as CNN Philippines

It started out as a joke. Nine Media Corporation chairman Antonio Cabangon-Chua and his friends bantered about bringing CNN to the country. Then they realized it could be done. 

That eventually led to Tuesday’s official announcement of the rebranding of the former ambassador to Laos’ 9TV, formerly Solar News, to CNN Philippines—the result of 1 year and 4 months of negotiation with CNN International (CNNI).

No, the latter is not investing money in Nine Media Corporation; after all, foreigners can’t invest in media properties in the country. It is the Filipino company that’s paying CNNI every month. How much, Cabangon-Chua didn’t want to disclose.

“This is not all about money in the business sense anymore,” he said. “I’m already 80. I want to leave a legacy.”

 So what’s going to change?

Kayen Zialcita, the local company’s senior vice president for brand development and marketing, summed it up: “The look and feel of the channel, the way we gather news, the way we report the news… those are all going to change.”

She added, “Everything will have to change because we have to live up to the standard of CNN.”

Thus, Filipino journalists will receive extensive training from CNN here and abroad.

CNN arrives in the Philippines. - Image: philstar.com

That CNN agreed to the five-year partnership means that the two organizations’ vision, mission, and values are aligned, CNNI senior vice president Ellana Lee confirmed.

They only have a few partnerships, and CNN Philippines is the newest addition to their small family that includes those in Indonesia, Chile, India, Turkey, and Japan.

“We have to look at the type of company that we partner up with,” Lee explained. “They [Nine Media] bring a lot of the same values that we look for in terms of covering the news and where they want to take the news specifically in the Philippines.”

In exchange, CNN will have the opportunity to reach in to the Philippine market, as their local partner is on free TV besides being available 24 hours on cable and pay television —unlike CNN’s other partnerships.

A win-win situation, according to representatives of the two organizations. 

CNN Philippines will operate from studio facilities in Metro Manila and will replace 9TV on the RPN network nationwide. It will deliver content from CNN’s affiliates, including the one in the United States. Feature programming and newscasts will be distinct.

“It’s a combination,” Zialcita said. “Otherwise, there will be no difference from the cable TV channel.”

 “But again, this is not a one-way business,” CNNI VP for content sales and partnerships Greg Beitchman stated. “You’ll see stories made globally for the local market, but we will also broadcast the best news in the Philippines that can be offered internationally.”

This development should provide competition in an industry dominated by two TV networks: ABS-CBN, which has the ANC 24-hour news channel, and GMA-7, which has GMA News TV, a channel that broadcasts the whole day as well, albeit on free TV.

“We have 34 years of strong knowhow, so we will shake up the [Philippine] landscape,” Beitchman said.

He added, “It will be quite challenging but fun. Competition is good; it will make us all better, and hopefully, it will also improve Filipino journalism.”

Expect CNN Philippines to be available first quarter of 2015 on free-to-air TV in Manila RPN-TV9, Cebu RPN-TV9, Davao RPN-TV9, Zamboanga RPN-TV5, Baguio RPN-TV12, and Bacolod RPN-TV8. 

It will likewise be on cable TV through Sky Channel 14 (Metro Manila), Sky Cable Channel 6 (Cebu, Davao, Bacolod, Iloilo, and Baguio), Destiny Cable Channel 14, Cablelink Channel 14, and Cignal Channel 10.  - Yahoo News Philippines

 

 

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