racoma.com.phJ. Angelo Racoma on technology, economics, writing, problogging, and getting things done

During my brief stint in NEDA, one of the projects I handled (to some extent) was one for the modernization of the Philippine Postal Corporation. Among the goals of the project was to make the postal system more efficient, and to lessen corruption in the system.

I don’t know what has happened to that project. Chances are, it’s still going through the bureaucratic hurdles (it’s a joint venture with the private sector after all, and these things really take years to process).

Looks like we have a long way to go. I chanced upon this post by Greg Moreno of MicroISV Philippines (one of our .com.ph bloggers) detailing some corrupt practices at the Cainta post office.

For the past 3 weeks, I’ve been sending out snail mails to Deped officials, school associations, and schools for my SchoolPad website. My mail includes 8 pages of letter-size bond papers. The cost for each mail is 23 pesos (around $0.50).

The other day, one mail was returned because the addressee has resigned. OK, no problem. Except that the cost of the mail is only 14 pesos as stamped on the envelope. If not for this returned mail, I wouldn’t have known the true cost.

When you send a mail just like mine, the receiving staff would weigh your mail first before telling you the price. The price list is not posted anywhere and only the receiving staff can see the price list or maybe she acts as if there is a price list. You cannot even see the reading on the weighing scale. The 1st time, I asked for a receipt but the lady in charge politely said they don’t give receipts and that everything is OK. The reason I asked for the receipt is I want to be sure that they would actually send my mail. The 2nd time, my worry is that the price would change given that the weight and price list is virtually non-existent. The good thing is they price consistently. They also corrupt consistently.

Whenever I claim registered mail at the Quezon City post office, they always issue receipts (anyway, the PhP 35 for “customs inspection” is standard). I haven’t lost any mails yet (including ever-important AdSense and TLA checks), so the QC post office seems to be efficient and effective in doing their job.

The goings-in at the Cainta post office reeks of blatant corruption.

Can something be done about this?

I always thought you only had to stick a postage stamp onto your envelope and it will be sent to its destination. Maybe people can avoid paying over the counter and instead just buy stamps directly to avoid this kind of abuse.

Share: