EVEN in this day and age of texting, e-mailing and online social networks, there is still a significant amount of paper that passes through the postal service, dubbed snail mail since the dawn of the internet era.

And the Philippine Postal Corporation (Philpost) branch in Dagupan is having a difficult time nowadays coping with snail mail as its manpower has been dwindling over the years.

Diosdado Garcia, Senior Postal Service Officer and Area Manager, said of the 20 original letter carriers assigned at the Dagupan Post Office, only 12 have remained following retirements, resignations and death.

Rebecca Fangon, Postmaster I, explained that replacements could not be hired given the policy of “no filling up of position” in the government in effect for 10 years now.

Garcia further explained that Philpost is operating under financial constraints as it subsists on its own income, mostly from sale of postage stamps, and does not receive subsidy from the government.

SOLUTIONS

Garcia last week appealed to the public for understanding following numerous complaints lodged in the past weeks due to the delayed delivery of mail.

He said that they are doing their best to address the problem on how to distribute at least six sacks of mail arriving daily for distribution.

Garcia said some schemes that are being adopted to keep the mails moving is a shifting method wherein some mail carriers from other towns are tapped to help.

However, Garcia admitted that the situation in other towns is even worse because their post offices are functioning with just one person.

Another scheme is the “bayanihan” system wherein all available personnel, including the postmaster, are mobilized to deliver the mails.

At the same time, Fangon called on barangay officials to help in the delivery of mails in their communities as a form of public service to their constituents.

For summons being sent by the courts or the prosecutor’s office, Garcia advised that these be submitted to the post office five days before the given hearing to that these can be delivered to the addressee before the due date.

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