STAMP ON MY HEART This Valentine’s Day celebration comes with a new series of postage stamps dedicated to romance, which were launched on Feb. 10 in Baguio City. —JOSEPH ZAMBRANO/CONTRIBUTOR
BAGUIO CITY—Postage stamps designed for Valentine’s Day were launched in Baguio on Thursday by Postmaster General Norman Fulgencio as the government kicked off the third national vaccination drive against COVID-19 to speed up the country’s return to normalcy.
The “Titibok pa rin (heart will keep beating)” stamp series is being dedicated to the public that has suffered two years of the pandemic, Fulgencio said at a program that was also attended by Mayor Benjamin Magalong in Burnham Park Ibaloy Garden.
Expression of love
“[People have been] confronted with difficulties. Some have lost their loved ones. Many are struggling, [feeling] sad, are scared, frustrated and broken,” Fulgencio said.
He said the Philippine Postal Corp. decided to commemorate the day when “all kinds of love” are shared by couples, friends and families.
The 10 new P12 stamps for 2022 feature heart-shaped cartoons that express “various emotional messages,” which also include “Nagmamahal pa rin (I continue to love),” and the stamp which asserts “Lalaban pa rin (I will keep fighting).”
Other stamps convey sentiments like “Nagmamalasakit pa rin (I continue to care),” “Titibok pa rin para sa bayan (My heart beats for the nation),” “Buo pa rin (I am still whole), and “Lumalaban pa rin (Still fighting).”
Fulgencio said Valentine’s Day “teaches us how to express love—all kinds of love,” which used to be transmitted as love letters.
The pandemic and the subsequent health protocols “require us to be distant and avoid human contact … [but] love prevailed … and here we are finally celebrating [Valentine’s Day] together,” Fulgencio said.
He said the stamp series honored people whose “hearts inspire hope and courage.”
The stamps were inaugurated in Baguio, which Magalong said “holds a special place in everyone’s heart.”
“Don’t let this pandemic stop you from relishing the fondness you have for your loved ones,” the mayor said in a speech.
The Valentine’s Day stamps and souvenir sheets, as well as their first day covers, can be bought at the Philatelic Counter of the Manila Central Post Office. —VINCENT CABREZA