Your mail is safe, says Philpost

Sending mail through the post office just got more reliable after the Philippine Postal Corp. (Philpost) joined forces with the Philippine National Police (PNP) recently to secure delivery vans.

Delivery of mail matters during the holiday season, which runs from October to January, is usually marred by hijacking of postal delivery vans, but Postmaster General Josie de la Cruz told the Inquirer that since the PNP started providing escorts to the delivery vans on Dec. 1, no hijacking has been reported.

Over the past years, Philpost is usually hit by five hijacking incidents between October and January. The goal is to have no such incident this year, especially since PNP Chief Nicanor Bartolome has issued a directive to PNP Regional directors and the Highway Patrol Group to provide necessary police security assistance to Philpost.

“Our mail delivery vans are now being monitored by PNP to prevent hijacking and holdup incidents. In the past, the prevalence of such activity was high during the holiday season,” De la Cruz said Friday.

Philpost delivers about one million mail matters per month during the holiday season, double the usual volume of about 500,000 pieces.

More than half the parcels being delivered are commercial items, including cosmetics, clothes, gadgets and other electronic devices, making them prime targets of criminal elements.

With the new collaboration, the PNP is given the delivery schedule of Philpost, enabling police officials to closely monitor movements of mail matters.

De la Cruz said she was encouraged by the partnership and the fact that there has been no hijacking since the start of December proves that “the partnership is efficient.”