Philippine Postal Corporation - 111 Years in The Service of The People

Philippine Postal Corporation has been serving the public for 111 years now, and what better way to celebrate it than with a number of exciting sports activities and musical events!

November 5, 2009
Philpost 6 kicked off the celebration on November 5, 2009, with a motorcade in Iloilo City, led by the Letter Carriers of Iloilo City Post Office. A dance competition which showed off the dancing skills of postal employees immediately followed. We witnessed a different Capiz contingent this time, one that’s bubblier and bursting with enthusiasm. Led by the equally vivacious PDM Arlyn Cababasay, postal employees from the Capiz District bested other participants with their consistency, smoothness of movement, and environmentally-inspired dance routine.

The Negros Occidental District led by the two other lady Postal District Managers, Elsa Pameroyan and Fatima Abangan, came in close second, while last year’s dance champion, the Regional Office participants, came in third.

The Aklan District did a very interesting and comical number, with its energetic PDM Richie Cardiel donning a Barbie doll costume and dancing to the tune of I’m A Barbie Girl.

The Metro Iloilo District under the leadership of PDM Rolly Mamon, was not to be outdone, even though the music stopped in the middle of the routine. The Antique District which was led by San Jose Post Office Postmaster Job Tunguia also did fairly well.

There were a number of indoor games in the afternoon of November 5 --- Target Shooting, Dart, Chess, Table Tennis, and Mail Sorting. The following are the winners:

Sharpest Target Shooter - Felmor Gonzales, Negros Occ. District
Dart Champion - Elbert Japitana, MDC-6
Chess Master - Limuel Rodriguez, Iloilo City Post Office Table Tennis Champ - Andrew Usison
Fastest Mail Sorter - Felicia Shereal dela Cruz, Iloilo City PO

The highlight of the day was the Macho Gay Contest. Certified gentlemen from each postal district and the Regional Office took the challenge of looking like a woman for just a few hours. There was such a huge uproar as the contestants romped around in high heels, bikinis, and long gowns. The judges had a very difficult time, for sure, as each contestant showed that he has what it takes to be crowned Macho Gay 2009.

But, in every contest, there is always winner, one star that shines the brightest. That star is Lorenzo Seraspe of the Capiz District. Lorenzo took home many special awards, too, including Best in Production Number, Best in Talent, Best in Evening Gown, and Best in Interview. Rommel Tanasan of the Regional Office was judged second best, while Anthony Velez of the Iloilo City Post Office and last year’s Macho Gay runner-up came in third.

Negros Occidental District representative Juliver Medel was awarded the Best in Casual Wear and Sports Wear awards.

November 6, 2009
The only sports activities on November 6 were the basketball games between the different districts. The Negros Occidental District team tried to defend its crown but failed to do so, losing to the overpowering Iloilo City Post Office team in the semi-finals. Former Negros Occidental District team star player Archie Sorallo could only watch helplessly in the sidelines.

But the Iloilo City Post Office team couldn’t win back the crown they lost to the Negros Occidental team last year. The team was in no match to the well rested CAANAK team, a team composed of players from the Districts of Capiz, Antique, and Aklan, in the finals.

The Singing Competition followed the basketball championship. It wasn’t karaoke-style singing this year, which posed a bigger challenge to the contestants to memorize their piece and to rely solely on background accompaniment (either in the form of CD or live accompaniment). Before musical-minded judges Atty. Joshua Alim, Mona Pico and Grace Lobaton, , the contestants belted out their own version of the song of their choice.

Amelio Hellera of the district of Negros Occidental was judged the best singer, garnering the highest scores in the areas of tone, musicality, style and interpretation, diction, suitability of piece, and stage presence. Gerald Tan, the Regional Office bet, received the most applause for his insurmountable determination to finish his rendition of Josh Groban’s You Raise Me Up up to the last note.

To end the two-day celebration, a short program recognizing the Outstanding Postal Workers of the Region for the year 2009, Marketing Specialist Tess D. Planco and Murcia Post Office Postmaster Gorgonio P. Hojilla, Jr., was held.

The main sponsor of the celebration was the Philippine Postal Corporation Credit Cooperative 6, under the chairmanship of Atty. Benjie S. Yotoko (who also happened to be the chairman of the Postal Consciousness Week 2009 celebration), but postal employees also helped source the event by selling raffle tickets. The lucky winners of the raffle are as follows:

Grand Prize (1 sack of rice)
Teresita Apayon
Valladolid, Negros Ocidental



2nd Prize (2-burner gas stove)
Filomena Pelobello
PPC, Iloilo City

3rd Prize (rice cooker)
Enriqueta Geduspan
MCTC, San Miguel

Consolation Prizes
Emelyn dela Cruz, Libacao, Aklan
Ricardo Arancillo, Dao, Capiz
Shaggy Nuñez, Iloilo City
Janet Salmon, MCTC, San Miguel
Junlets, Pavia, Iloilo
Arnold Gallo, Leon, Iloilo
Helen Divinagracia, Pavia, Iloilo
Franklin Tan, Toboso, Negros Occidental
Regin Cabacayan, Bacolod City
Vera Grace Raya, Cadiz City

On Monday, November 9, Philpost 6 conducted the ceremonial flag-raising ceremony in observance of the 111th birth anniversary of the postal service.

Philpost 6 Connects With The Environment

Still forming part of the celebration of World Post Day, Philpost 6 Regional Director Lilia Barcelon, Acting Operations Director Atty. Benjie Yotoko, Acting AdFin Director Iris Sargado, together with some key officials of the Region trekked to the plains of Dumangas on October 17, 2009 to conduct a tree planting activity in coordination with the municipality of Dumangas, headed by Mayor Ronaldo Golez.

In the light of all environmental issues plaguing the world today, it becomes more apparent than ever for each and every one to take responsibility in nurturing the earth. The Local Government Unit of Dumangas responded to the urgent call of nature and created an environment advocacy and that is to plant 20,000 trees by year 2010. Philpost 6 was more than willing to take part in the program because by so doing, it not only stays connected with the environment but also helps to cultivate it in order to build a better future for the coming generations.

Philpost 6 Celebrates World Post Day

Amidst heavy rains, Philpost 6 celebrates World Post Day on October 9.

A Brief History of World Post Day
October 9, 1874 marked the establishment of the Universal Postal Union. During the UPU Congress in Tokyo, Japan in 1969, 5 years before the 100th founding anniversary of the UPU, October 9 of every year has been declared World Post Day.

You’d think that the gloomy weather would dampen the spirits of Postal employees in Region 6, but everyone was in high gear that day. The Regional Office kicked off the celebration with a mass. The Marketing Specialist Tess Planco then had a consultation with the Letter Carriers of Iloilo City Post Office. She emphasized the importance of the role of the Letter Carriers in building the image of the Corporation.

Postal District Managers simultaneously conducted seminars, lectures and workshops to their postmasters, letter carriers and service front-liners on mail operations, postal products and services, and customer care, which fittingly expressed this year’s theme, Stay Connected.

It was a day that proved to be not only relaxing but enlightening as well.

Stamp Exhibit @ Iloilo City Post Office

In line with the celebration of World Post Day on October 9, 2009, PPC-6 launched a stamp exhibit at the Iloilo City Post Office on October 6, 2009. Cutting the ribbon to formally open the exhibit is Philpost 6 Regional Director Lilia O. Barcelon, assisted by Philpost 6 Acting Operations Director, Atty. Benjie S. Yotoko.

The exhibit, which features Philatelic stamps and first day covers, hopes to increase the public’s awareness of one of the most loved hobbies of all time --- stamp collecting.

Taking charge of the exhibit, which will run until October 9, 2009, is the Marketing Section of the Regional Office, headed by Marketing Specialist Tess D. Planco.

Now It's Our Turn To Share

It wasn’t long ago when Western Visayas experienced nature’s wrath in Typhoon Frank. There was massive flooding in the provinces of Iloilo and Aklan, and many postal employees lost their homes and their belongings. Appeals for help reached the high heavens, moving hearts to donate in cash or kind. The response from postal employees coming from the different regions was overwhelming. They donated food, clothing, and cash, and before long, we who were affected by the typhoon were able to begin to rebuild our lives.

Now another typhoon, Ondoy, has swept over the country causing flooding again, this time, in Metro Manila and the neighboring provinces. There are many postal employees who have not been spared by nature’s fury. Ondoy damaged their homes and destroyed their possessions, and we who have experienced the wrath of nature just over a year ago, could very well relate to their situation.

And so, moved by the same spirit of generosity that has helped us moved on in one way or the other, we share whatever we can with our fellow postal employees. Personnel Section Chief Cynthia I. Amaguin spearheaded the collection campaign for clothes and goods, and these were sent to the Employees Welfare Division for distribution last October 5, 2009.

Philpost 6 Personnel - Bida sa Iloilo Grand BIDA March

PPC-6, led by Acting Operations Director Atty. Benjie S. Yotoko and Acting AdFin Director Iris G. Sargado, took part in history when it joined the first national BIDA march ever conducted in the Philippines on September 3, 2009.

The Iloilo Grand BIDA March, which coincided with the celebration of the 15th National Crime Prevention Week (NCPW), is a show of support to the Batang Iwas DrogA (BIDA) project of the BIDA Foundation and PAGCOR, a project that principally aims to educate the children regarding the ill effects of drug abuse.

RD BARCELON At the Groundbreaking Ceremony of the Secondary Access Road Project

Philpost 6 Regional Director Lilia Barcelon showed her support to the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC), of which Philippine Postal Corporation is a member agency, by attending the Groundbreaking/Capsule Laying Ceremony of the Second Access Road Project in Brgy. Tabucan, Cabatuan, Iloilo in the morning of September 18, 2009.

An idea that was conceptualized by former Iloilo Governor and now Congressman of the 3rd District of Iloilo, Arthur D. Defensor 13 years ago, the Second Access Road would stretch 3.2 kilometers from the national highway in Brgy. Tabucan, Cabatuan, all the way to the new airport complex, providing an alternative road to New Iloilo Airport passengers coming from the northern and central parts of Iloilo as well as from the provinces of Antique, Capiz, and Aklan.

Congressman Defensor said that he is grateful to DOTC Secretary Leandro R. Mendoza for having made the necessary representations to ensure that funds are allocated and released for this project, declared as SONA project.

DOTC, through the Project Management Office of New Iloilo Airport Development Project (NIADP) in coordination with the Local Government Unit of Cabatuan, Iloilo, is the implementing agency of the project.

Noted personalities during the ceremony were Secretary Leandro R. Mendoza, DOTC USec Doroteo A. Reyes II, 3rd District Congressman Arthur D. Defensor, Iloilo Governor Niel D. Tupas, Sr., and Cabatuan Mayor Ramon C. Yee.

Iloilo City Post Office Launches Special Lane for Pregnant Women, Persons with Disabilities and The Elderly

In pursuit of its commitment to promote a gender fair society, Iloilo City Post Office has opened a special lane for pregnant women, persons with disabilities, and the elderly, on July 24, 2009. A teller has been designated to attend to ALL the postal needs of these clients with special needs.

Other capital post offices in Region 6, notably, Bacolod City Post Office in Negros Occidental, Roxas City Post Office in Capiz, Kalibo Post Office in Aklan, and San Jose Post Office in Antique are also set to open a special lane for pregnant women, persons with disabilities and the elderly very soon.

PHILPOST 6 KEY OFFICIALS TAKE A JOURNEY TOWARDS A GENDER FAIR SOCIETY

GAD Training With A Healthy Twist
Philpost 6 Division Directors, Postal District Managers and other key officials attended a two-day training on Gender Sensitivity on July 22-23, 2009 at Villa Sagrado, Iloilo City, in line with Philpost’s continuous advocacy on Gender and Development (GAD). The training was conducted by Ms. Rose Tubal, Chief, Employees Welfare Division and DOTC-Gender and Development (GAD) accredited trainer, Ms. Emily Baylon, also of the Employees Welfare Division and herself a DOTC-GAD accredited trainer, and Ms. Venus Frias, Training Officer of Postal Region 7.

The participants were made to take a journey towards a gender fair society, a journey which proved to be both fun and enlightening. Indeed, for many of the participants, it was an eye-opener to the role of women in the home, in the workplace, and in the community.

Some had the wrong notion that the seminar was designed to establish the supremacy of one sex over the other, or as a form of women empowerment. Actually, the seminar only aimed to emphasize the fact that each individual is part and parcel of a bigger picture. Each individual, man or woman, young or old, rich or poor, deserves a place in the universe, and each individual has the power to touch lives and to make a difference.

Interestingly, this particular GAD Training program had a healthy twist to it, with Ma’am Rose Tubal interjecting wellness tips much to the delight of the participants.

The two-day seminar ended with a poignant ceremony with candles and long-stemmed red roses, and with each participant’s statement of commitment to continue on with the journey towards a gender fair society.

Two Gentlemen of the PPC-Board in Region 6

Two gentlemen of the PPC Board, Director Alfredo G. Gabot and Director Edgardo V. Espinosa, and their staff paid PPC-Region 6 a visit on March 11, 2009 basically to see how things are in the Region.

Well, they weren’t disappointed for sure. Despite the many challenges, the economic crisis among them, the gentlemen are pleased to see for themselves that PPC-6 is actually doing fairly well under the supervision of RD Lilia O. Barcelon. Amidst the shortage in manpower and the fact that a lot of the Region’s officials are holding positions in acting capacity, PPC-6 is able to reduce the impact of the crisis and to cope with the day to day challenges.

The visit gave the Directors a chance to meet the staff and employees of the PPC-6 to inform them of some updates. In particular, Dir. Gabot, being also the Administrator of the Provident Fund Office, said that PFO will begin accepting new members this month. Even casual employees can be qualified to apply for membership with PFO. Accordingly, the Office is also working some things out to provide more benefits to its members.

The visit also gave PPC-6 employees the opportunity to air their concerns to the two members of the Board of Directors who promised to take the matters up in their forthcoming Board Meeting.

The group took time to go to several post offices in the beautiful island of Guimaras as well as some post offices in the City of Iloilo. The following day, March 12, 2009, they went to the district of Negros Occidental to attend the blessing of Brgy. 20 Post Office, the construction of which was sponsored by the City Government of Bacolod City thru the efforts of its dynamic Mayor, Hon. Evelio “Bing” R. Leonardia.

Brgy. 20 Post Office Now @ The Bacolod City Government Compound

The City Government of Bacolod City, through the efforts of its Mayor, Hon. Evelio “Bing” R. Leonardia, sponsored the construction of the Brgy. 20 Post Office at the City Government Office Compound, giving Brgy. 20 Post Office a new and beautiful home. The Brgy. 20 Post Office has been housed at the Brgy. Hall of Brgy. 20 for 5 years.

Last Thursday, March 12, 2009, the newly constructed Post Office was blessed and inaugurated, and in attendance were no less than Dir. Alfredo G. Gabot and Dir. Edgardo V. Espinosa, two gentlemen of the PPC Board, PPC-6 RD Lilia O. Barcelon, Bacolod City Administrator Dr. Rogelio G. Balo representing Mayor Leonardia, the Brgy. Captain of Brgy. 20 Carlo Remo G. Barredo, and some key officials and employees of PPC-6.

In the short program that followed the blessing, Dir. Gabot thanked Mayor Leonardia for the strong support to the Philippine Postal Corporation, and talked about the importance of the Postal Service amidst the many breakthroughs in technology.

Talking in behalf of Mayor Leonardia, Dr. Balo said that, indeed, the City Government recognizes the necessity of the Postal Service, and that it is, in fact, willing to construct more post offices in other parts of Bacolod City.

In return, the Philippine Postal Corporation commits to do its best to cater to the postal needs of the residents of Brgy. 20.

Looking Back ... Moving On

Looking Back … Moving On

Philpost 6 conducted a Strategic Planning Workshop and Assessment on February 19-20, 2009 at the City Corporate Inn, Iloilo City, to look back to the year that was and come out with plans and programs for the year 2009.

Looking Back
Looking back to the year 2008, Philpost 6, under the resourceful attitude and guidance of the region’s brightest minds and the strong leadership of Regional Director Lilia O. Barcelon, introduced and implemented several schemes to improve its dispatch capability (all classes of mails are dispatched within one day), hasten the processing and delivery of mails, increase its delivery efficiency, become more visible to the public and gain more customers in the process. 98% of the almost 11 million mails received by Philpost 6 were successfully delivered, while the remaining 2% were Returned To Sender (RTS).

One other thing Philpost 6 is proud to have accomplished in 2008 is the immediate delivery of all express mails, both international and express mails, in Iloilo City. All express mails received by the Office before 9:00 in the morning are delivered within that same day, while those received by the Office after 9:00 in the morning are delivered within 24 hours. This scheme will also be implemented in the other district offices soon.

Oh, Frank!
Looking back to 2008 will always bring memories of Frank, the typhoon that not only crippled the mail operations for a time but also left many postal employees homeless. Indeed, the wrath of Frank has made such a big impact, yet the faith of the people never wavered. Through the representation made by RD Barcelon, there was an outpouring of support, both financial and otherwise, from the Central Office, particularly from the Postmaster General himself, Hector RR Villanueva, the different Regional Offices and Sections, and private groups and individuals, and all these helped to immediately restore the postal operations.


Moving On
Philpost 6 knows that challenges are part and parcel of life ..of operating a business. Year in and year out, Philpost 6 has regarded these challenges not as an ordeal but rather as avenues for growth and stimuli for fresh ideas.

Yes, technological advancements which offer more convenient ways of communication, the global economic crisis, and a depleted work force, will remain to be a big challenge for Philpost this year, but Philpost hopes to use all these to its advantage by embarking on more intensive campaigns and investing in computers and programs to effectively meet the demands of time and technology.

The Singing Gram: A Special Valentine Project of Philpost 6

Letter Carriers of Iloilo City Post Office delivered not just cakes and pastries and Valentine cards but timeless love songs --- much to the delight of the recipients of the Singing Gram.

Ten postal patrons engaged the services of Koro Kartero to sing a couple of love songs to their loved ones on February 13, 2008, the day before Valentine’s Day. A rush of emotions ensued and reactions though varied were overwhelming and inspiring, to say the least. Some cried tears of joys, others beamed with happiness, the rest were simply touched in one way or the other.

The Singing Gram Project is not exclusive during the Valentine season only. Any time you may wish to make someone feel special with a song, just call our Marketing Office at 033-335-119 or 033-509-8360 and look for Tess Planco, Marketing Specialist and Coordinator of Koro Kartero.