Signed, sealed, delivered: A new life for PhlPost

MANILA, Philippines — During my time, every kid had a stamp collection. For me, my collection was my initial introduction to other countries. I remember the Vatican and San Marino stamps were among the largest, long before I traveled to these surprisingly geographical small territories. But with social media, messaging applications and email, have stamps and mailing a letter at the post office gone the way of the dodo bird?

The Philippine Postal Corp. or PHLPost, the government entity responsible for mail, has indeed suffered a significant decline in the digital age. However, they have since reinvented themselves and offered up various complementing products and services such as enhanced general delivery service through improved logistics, warehouse arrangements and the expansion of accessible retail branches.

Recently, I visited the imposing neoclassical Manila Central Post Office building, the center of Philippine postal services, at Liwasang Bonifacio in Manila.

Maxi Sta. Maria, manager of PHLPost’s Business Line Department, and his energetic team in charge of the revitalization of philately – the collection and study of stamps – discussed how it has breathed new life into the industry.

First, some background. Our very first stamp was a right-side profile of Queen Isabella II of Spain, inscribed with Correos 1854 y 55.

Meanwhile, almost simultaneously, President Emilio Aguinaldo issued distinctive stamps – interestingly, he commissioned beer label artists – to mark the assertion of sovereignty of the Filipino nation. The artwork was dominated by red, the color of the Katipuneros.

When the Americans came, they used United States of America – Philippine Islands and the first Filipino to appear on a Philippine postage stamp in 1906 was none other than Dr. Jose Rizal.

During the Japanese occupation, it fast became a widespread hobby due to its low cost, but also for propaganda – each important political or military event was commemorated through a stamp release.

Today, PHLPost continues to celebrate significant events through these miniature pieces of art.

“The Philately Division organizes stamps into three main groups,” shares Maxi. “Definite, commemorative and personalized.”

The definites are released annually, such as on Independence Day, Chinese New Year and Christmas. Commemorative stamps are reserved to honor silver and golden anniversaries of both public and private institutions. Personalized designs are customized to the client’s specifications, mostly for marketing purposes.

“We have nine marketing specialists who continue to scout for potential proponents as early as two years in advance, as larger projects require a considerable amount of preparation and execution,”  Maxi explains. “Research is the first step.”

Once ideas have been identified, followed by a battery of consultations, a rather young – average 23 years – hip and talented team of in-house artists collaborates to create artworks using either traditional or digital medium.

These plans are then submitted to the PHLPost Stamp Committee – which meets twice a month – and after scrutiny, revisions, approval and signature of internal documents, the stamps are finally off to the printers! A launch day and an exhibit at their spacious lobby is scheduled.

Each print run has a minimum of 101,000 pieces, with regular ones costing P12 each. Records reveal PHLPost prints a minimum of 30 designs per year, with 13 of those recurring. In 2014, though, the number reached a whopping 62!

In addition to heroes and presidents, they have released Filipino saints Lorenzo Ruiz and Pedro Calungsod, and personalities such as the action star Fernando Poe Jr., comedy legend Dolphy, the determined and courageous Philippine Mount Everest Team, boxing icon Manny Pacquiao, Olympic medalists Onyok Velasco and Hidilyn Diaz, Miss World Megan Young and our three Misses Universe Gloria Diaz, Margie Moran and Pia Wurtzbach.

Their most popular include the papal stamps, which feature a special embellishment resembling a coin, followed by former president Cory Aquino’s scented ones showcasing her paintings and the Miss World and Miss Universe series, which boasted a glittering embossed crown – and subsequently also hailed as their prettiest work to date.

Other enhancements have been experimented on, namely, fabric texture on the Ifugao attire, glow-in-the-dark fireworks and fountains in the National Parks series and embossed sand grains for the lighthouse selection. They broke the norm with a triangular format for the Philippine Marine Biodiversity expansion, and even delved into a three-dimensional gold-foil embossed style for Pope John Paul II’s visit, plus the Year of the Horse tribute.

Since the Philippines is known as the selfie capital of the world, PHLPost innovated with the “seflie stamp,” which shows the Post Office façade superimposed with your very own selfie photo. These booths are situated in popular tourists spots such as Baguio, Bohol, Boracay and Palawan.

There are several avenues to procure stamps for budding collectors.

“Those that have been issued are available as philatelic items at the Post Office’s Postshop as collectors’ stamps for one year,” information officer Alvin Fidelson chimes in.

For those who wish to meet like-minded hobbyists, philatelic clubs continue to accept new members. These organizations meet at the PHLPost Lobby every Tuesday and Thursday to vend old collections, while the first, second, and third Sundays of the month are dedicated for stamp auctions and trading. These are surefire ways to expand one’s potential inventory while exchanging discoveries and experiences with fellow philatelists.

Maxi likewise expressed his enthusiasm in philately. “This pastime has kindled so much interest over many decades,” he states. “Postage reflects the broad spectrum of our national identity, history, tradition, culture, arts, social and economic development and environment. A stamp may even act as an ambassador-at-large, for it extols tales and anecdotes about our beautiful island as it travels around the world through the postal service.”

Fortunately, the agency’s transformation efforts have not been in vain. PHLPost was cited for Post Management at the World Mail Awards 2014 in Germany and was a finalist at the Post Technology Awards 2014 in Sweden. Today, PHLPost enjoys a harmonious relationship with 200 international letter and parcel post partners.

Looking forward, they are busy preparing for the forthcoming ASEAN Philatelic Exhibition (ASEANPEX), the ASEAN Postal Business Meeting and – believe it or not – the 250th anniversary of the Philippine Postal Service. Remember, they opened their doors in 1767 – yes, in 1767!

The Philately section dreams – they have also taken this as a challenge – of eventually erecting a depository, their very own permanent philatelic museum, where they can exhibit the country’s extensive collection of stamps that is a part of our heritage that may be visited for education, fun and a sense of being proudly Filipino.

The Manila Central Post Office is open from Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. For current and upcoming stamp catalogues, visit phlpost.gov.ph.