There were recent reports that the magnificent Post Office Building in Liwasang Bonifacio would…read moresoon be sold to a Korean conglomerate which would turn it into a five star hotel. The purchase came with the promise that the exterior would not be touched. If this report is true, then it may be acceptable. For all its beauty, there is no questioning the fact that the global postal system is in flux. The traditional post offices are all facing serious challenges brought about by modern technology. The Philippine Postal Corporation tried to put up a bank to make remittances easier. Instead of sending postal money orders by mail, it would be infinitely better to send funds bank to bank. There have also been serious attempts to speed up the delivery system. All these attempts have been in vain, and the reason cited for possibly selling the awe inspiring Post Office building is because of the heavy losses of the government agency. As long as the building itself is never destroyed, we can live with whatever it becomes in the years and decades to come. But it would be better if a Filipino rather than a foreign group were to take over the edifice with its classic Roman architecture.

I make a trip to the post office three to six times a year. No, I'm not sending love letters…read more Rather, I'm sending big boxes that are either full of toys and clothes for my wife's niece living in Sweden or loaded with books and collectibles whenever someone buys the occasional stuff I sell on eBay. Sending stuff in big boxes abroad has never been a chore for me. I actually find it easy because Barangay Bel-Air has a satellite post office along Valero Street. The small office is air-conditioned and the longtime postal workers on duty are very polite and reliable. In the years that I have used their services, I never had a bad experience with the post office guys in Bel-Air. Plus, there's rarely a crowd lining up in this satellite office, unlike in the main Makati City Post Office along Gil Puyat Ave. In spite of what they say in the news, the Philippine Post Office, or PhilPost, is still the most practical way of sending letters and parcels to any point in the world. For one, the national postal system has all the necessary infrastructure to perform all mail-related services. The best thing about PhilPost is they have the most affordable rates for letters and packages. And if you know when to send your goods (avoiding Christmas and other peak holiday seasons), PhilPost can actually beat the delivery dates of big private couriers, especially when it comes to international shipments.

The clerk is by far the most hostile and rude employee I have ever encountered in my whole life…read more She greeted me with "What do you want??!?!". When I asked her if I could see the weight of my parcel on her weighing scale, she said "Do you doubt me? If you don't trust me then go to another post office branch, go to the main branch and send your stuff there. You're the only customer ever who requests to see the weighing scale." All this with her exasperated and intimidating voice and eyes that look like she was gonna murder me any second. I did not feel safe, and do not recommend that people send their items here because I felt like the clerk hates people and would sabotage their mail.

The few times I've ordered anything from an online store based in another country, I haven't had to…read morepay extraordinarily ridiculous amounts at customs. Maybe I was lucky, and corruption was on holiday. Nevertheless, claiming a parcel shipped from a source abroad really does give you the heebie-jeebies as soon as you step into the post office. I expected the worst the first time I came through those doors. Fortunately, there weren't a lot of people at the time, though there was still a line. The place isn't airconditioned, and the staff is... Well, old. What's more ancient though is the system in place. There are logbooks you have to sign in order to claim a parcel, and virtually nothing seems computerized. I was lucky that my visits weren't done during peak seasons, but I imagine a little bit of hell during Christmas time or whenever there's a surge of deliveries. Located right on Buendia, parking can be a bit challenging, but the place is pretty much easily accessible. It's also near the fire station, and the thought of having that nearby in case a fire threatens to burn valuable parcels and padala is somewhat comforting. Each of my trips took maybe ten to fifteen minutes. Not bad for a facility run by aging folks. I'm just hoping I'll never have the corruption horror stories every other person seems to have with customs.

I mailed out a paperwork to the U.S. via registered mail at the Makati Central Post Office in June…read more2025. Three (3) months has passed and the recipient in the U.S. still has not received the registered mail. I also sent a copy of the same paperwork via regular mail and it also has not been received by the recipient in the U.S. It's a disgrace that the Makati Central Post Office is unreliable. It is possible that there are mail thieves somewhere in the process. Nick M.

I've been waiting for Literally MONTHS for my "fun stuff" online for a total of around $35 with a…read moreSAL shipping. 14-30 days. Cool. I'll wait. Guess the freaking what, ithat was supposed to arrive last april 2016 to early may 2016 and NO SIGN OF IT! I even tried telling Jlist about this and they shipped a new one. 14-30 days. It's been 20 already and nothing! 2 SAL shipping lost? what the actual hell, Philpost? Are you against people buying those those stuff? I've tried sending them emails after emails but no reply.

I honestly have a love-hate relationship with Philpost. I guess it's the gravity of the situation…read morethat gets me irked over them at times. Let's say my German friend is leaving for Japan and she needed something from me right away to bring in her trip. So of course I would use EMS for that. For the thousands of pesos that I've paid to send the small package to her, I would expect it to get there in a matter of four days to one week, depending on circumstance. But lo and behold, three weeks has passed, my friend has not received the packet yet. It was only the day before her departure that she received the thing! I don't really care if there was anything that happened in between. It's EMS, a premium mail class that's been paid for, by (let me reiterate) the thousands. I was utterly dissatisfied that one time. The same year, I have sent out Christmas cards, mostly to US addresses. Guess what? Only one got to the consignee, and the rest were mailed back to me. I don't even want to know what in the universe happened there. Everytime an envelope was mailed back to me, I hit my head on the desk. Then again, I gotta love them for the lots of times they didn't tax me enough, and joked around my peculiar taste in online shopping. To put it simply--"dinaan nila sa tawa". When they saw that I ordered a pink-colored curly long hair wig, they laughed. When they saw that I ordered wooden rocking horseshoes (google it, friend) , they laughed. Okay, they didn't really laugh at the golden (plastic) saturn orb lighter but they loved it anyway. When they saw the (stainless steel)armor ring, they didn't even know what it was until I explained how it's worn. They still laughed. (You probably know what anime I was trying to cosplay here, huh?) In the end, in all of those items, I've paid like 40-70 pesos customs dues (geez, the fees increase dramatically every year, huh?) So In all fairness, they have their good points too. ....Except that one time when my order went above 12,000 yen. My arse was taxed so hard, I went home crying. I guess the wisdom I can impart to you guys (in matters of not getting taxed too much by the customs) is to SPLIT YOUR SHIPMENT, especially if your shipping cost isn't more than the item's cost. Like this example: a DVD priced 7,500 yen with shipping at 900 yen. If you want another DVD around the same amount shipped with your first order, prepare yourself. Sure, you only pay another...what, a few hundred yen for additional weight for the additional item? But if you get taxed, it'll amount around half of your total price + shipping cost. In pesos. There's a magic formula they use to compute customs dues, but no matter how you look at it, it just arrives at half the total cost. It's ingenius, I tell you. SPLIT YOUR SHIPMENT, friends. Not doing so has gotten me paying fees that made me bleed, as compared to completely getting them "duty-free" and delivered to my doorstep because the declared amount just totalled to...umm, "barya"? But of course, it's still totally up to you, whether you want to pay a little extra shipping cost or you know...risk it.

THIS is the most awesome statue of Andres Bonifacio in existence. Not the one in Monumento (A…read moretravesty, really), and not the one in front of the National Post Office. THIS. I am totally in love with the raw energy, the fierceness, the drama of this monument. Not content to showcase Bonifacio standing, they show him charging into action, ready to fight, ready to sacrifice his life for the country as he actually did (Though not at the hands of the enemy, but this is not the time for that discussion). If you angle your shot at just the right spot, you can actually depict Bonifacio attacking Manila City Hall. It's an incredible shot that may or may not be representative of whatever.

The City of Manila and Manilenos love Andres Bonifacio, placing him on a pedestal practically at…read morepar with National Hero Jose P. Rizal. This is with good reason. Bonifacio was founder of the movement known as the Katipunan, which waged a revolution against Spain in the 1890s. It is one of Philippine history's greatest tragedies that Bonifacio became a victim of the very revolution he started, being assassinated by the men of Emilio Aguinaldo after the revolutionary forces split into two factions. Today, the nationalist and Leftist movements consider Bonifacio a national hero. He is their symbol as well as rallying point in their modern day war against oppression. Bonifacio Day is celebrated as a national holiday and the most important shrine to the revolutionary from Tondo is the Kartilya ng Katipunan shrine in Liwasang Bonifacio. No less than National Artist Ed Castrillo created this metal and wood sculpture. The plaza in front is often used for different events, from political rallies to city fairs. Above it all stands the mighty Bonifacio, wielding his bolo and rallying his men to fight the better equipped Spaniards.

Takes MONTHS to get a postal notice to arrive. IF IT ARRIVES AT ALL…read more Four items, not a single notice for a single one to arrive in two months until I checked at the post office. Person in charge claims the notices were sent out on the day the entries were made in their logbook. So who is at fault?

If you're addicted to online shopping (and you are, you just don't know it yet), then a…read morerelationship with your friendly neighborhood post office is one of the keys to not having to file paypal disputes every other week. Knowing who handles your latest cops relieves a ton of the nervousness associated with tracking-less shipping. Fortunately for those living in the San Juan area, the post office has moved from its grimey bomb shelter into a new-old building. The walls are clean, the staff appear friendlier, and there's actually a process for claiming and sending packages. Just don't try to flirt with the taxman, because that doesn't seem work anymore.