Snail mail: 5-month wait for parcels

MANILA, Philippines - Still waiting for the Christmas package sent by a relative from abroad?

Chances are, it’s one of at least 5,000 parcels stuck at the Central Mail Exchange Center (CMEC) in Pasay City, awaiting clearance for release from the Bureau of Customs (BOC).

Postmaster General Josefina de la Cruz of the Philippine Postal Corp. (PHLPost) yesterday said the pile of packages is almost as high as the
ceiling of the CMEC building. Delivery of some parcels have been delayed for five months.

She said some of the contents had spilled out as a number of boxes have sustained damage or tears.

Clients have expressed dismay over the slow delivery, according to De la Cruz.

“Many of those parcels should have been Christmas gifts. Some of these were orders from the online shopping sites Amazon and eBay,” she said, adding the bulk of the cargo came from Korea and Japan.

“Some contained food. I’m sure the public is not happy with the situation,” she said.

De la Cruz said it would be unfair to blame PHLPost for the slow delivery.

“There’s nothing we can do if there is no Customs examiner.”

She said while they normally expect an increase in the arrivals of packages during the “ber” months, the recent change in the leadership at the BOC aggravated the backlog in the release of cargo.