Well, last week we didn’t have a Podcast, because I had a special announcement about my new website, Expat Island, so it’s nice to be back again with another podcast!
By the way, if you enjoy the Podcast, or if you think that there is need for improvement, could you please go leave an honest review of the show on iTunes? It would be greatly appreciated!
Today, I will be answering a question from Bill. Bill has asked a question on The Expat Answer Man in the past, and I have a few more questions in the hopper from him as well. Since Bill is just about ready to move here (any day now), he has plenty of well thought out questions.
How does the mail system work in the Philippines?
This week, Bill wants to know about Mail Delivery in the Philippines. I have to say that mail delivery is something that is significantly different here than it is back in the States, or in the rest of the developed world. When Bill asked me about this, I was sure glad to get the question, because this is one area where the changes are very significant, and many of us who have been here for a while kind of take it for granted, I’d say. In fact, I had not even really considered the topic until Bill asked.
Also, as part of Bill’s question he talks about the shipment of Balikbayan Boxes, another important topic for consideration!
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Thanks again for listening, everybody!
I have been told that the Philippine postal system was different but I did not realize it was quite different. We are very familiar with the balikbayan boxes. We still ship them regularly to family in the Philippines. For regular mail I will probably get FPO through the RAO.
Hi Gary – Indeed the way mail is handled here is quite different. I am not certain, but I believe that the reason most local “mail” is handled by private people is because of the inefficiency and also corruption in the post office.
Bob,
I wish to apologize to your other followers out there. I know I’ve been flooding the Expat Answer Man mailbox with several questions. I’m moving there in just a matter of a few days and have so many questions burning in my head.
Thank you very much for being patient with me and helping. I also had a lot of fun on your new program Expat Island. GREAT PROGRAM!!!!
Thank you!
Bill
Absolutely no apology is necessary. You can’t help it if you keep asking questions that are of value and many people would enjoy hearing! 🙂
Thank you Bob! Excited and Nervous! haha
Walay problema, Bill. 🙂
Bob, my wife was just telling me of an employee of Phil post under investigation for theft in our future home. I probably won’t be using Phil post.
Do not apologize Bill. You should have a lot of questions. It is a big move.
Yep, I can certainly understand why you would not use them! 🙂
GaryM,
Thank you very much! I’ve got to remind myself no matter how hard I try to pull off ‘The Perfect Move’. That’s a pipe dream because there is no such thing. I’m reserved to the fact that I’ve done all I can do to prepare and everyone who has helped in that process did save me a lot of heartache and frustration as best they could.
Expat Island….Here I come! haha
I understand Bill. We are a little over 8 months away from our big move. It’s stressful but I know that it will be rewarding in the end.
Ah mail delivery, a few years ago I started collecting Social Security, and I gave them my RAO FPO mailing address and would receive mail within a week. All was fine until. Then in the SSA’s wisdom they asked me to fill out a form with my physical address here in the Philippines. To not fill this out came with stern warnings of impending doom if I failed to do it. So I did, and then I received a notice from Social Security that I was failing to respond to their inquires in a trimly fashion. It seems that they now send my mail to my Dinalupihan address which will take two to three months to be delivered to my gate.
The catch 22 of dealing with the US Goverment.
Ah yes, Paul. If I remember correctly, you wrote an article about the whole SS fiasco, or it was something very similar. I wonder why they just didn’t leave your FPO address as your mailing address? Too easy, I guess.
Although I have not experienced it myself, I have heard that Phipost charges a ” Package Tax ” when the recipiant of a package comes to pick it up at the post office. First Class letters I have sent from New York to Mindanao take around 3 weeks to reach the person or place I send them to, parcels maybe a bit longer. My own observation is that in comparison to the U.S. Postal Service, Philpost is quite slow. For anyone planning on sending things through the Mail to The Philippines try to allow extra time. From the time you mail something in the USA, it is only a matter of a few days for your item to get to Manila. The rest of the time is consumed by PH Customs ( if a parcel or package ) and then through the Philpost sorting and distribution. I do not believe they are as automated as the USA or certain other countries are.
Nice Podcast Bob on a very significant topic.
Hi Bob – There is no “Package Tax” per se, at least nothing that I am aware of or have ever paid. There are customs fees to be paid. For the post office, though, it is often just a flat fee of P35.\
Regarding speed, remember that the Philippines is an archipelago of 7,107 islands, it takes more time and is more difficult logistically to move stuff over that kind of area than contiguous land mass. 🙂
Thanks, Bob.
Bob New York,
It is very common for someone receiving a package in Davao to be asked to pay a “fee” when they show up for the package. About 15 years ago when my wife was living in Davao, I sent her a package via regular postal mail and she was given notice to show up at the post office to pick it up. Upon arrival they asked her for something like the equivalent of US$20 to pick it up. It contained some pepper spray, OTC medicines and small things of not much interest to others. Come to find out, she knew one of the people working in the post office so she didn’t have to pay. On a more recent note, close to my mother-in-laws birthday last year my mother wanted to send her a card with a few dollars in it for her birthday. They got to know each other fairly well when my mother-in-law came to visit a few years ago. I warned my mother DO NOT put any money in the card at all or the card will never arrive….she did it anyway “just to check” and the card never showed up. The US post office will always tell people not to send money in the mail as it could get “lost” but I’ve never heard of that happening through graduation cards, birthday cards, etc. they just never get lost or stolen. It ALWAYS happens sending stuff to the Philippines. You have to go with a reputable Balikbayan shipper or ship through Fedex or the like.
Hey there Bob :). My wife (who was raised during the martial law period) has absolutely no confidence in the Phil Post, either delivery or honesty. I try not to live by the “contempt prior to investigation” theory. My Philippine address is my official address so I get mail from the VA often. I have also ordered things via Amazon using my Philippine address. Normal delivery seems to run about 21 days, however one did take 60 lololol. I did have to go pick the packages up and pay VAT on them, but every thing was there and in good condition. So IMHE PhilPost needs to be renamed “Tortoise” post, slow, very slow, but eventually it gets there ;).
Hi Scott – Well, I will say that MOST things that have come to me through the mail have arrived intact. However, I have been a victim of theft of items going through PhilPost a few times.
Biggest mistake I ever made was shipping 2 watches to Shirl and the daughter though the mail for their b-day. They never arrived, so since then EVERYTHING goes via LBC, never a problem!
I have also always had positive results with LBC, Heinz. I guess nobody is perfect, but they have come pretty close to it in my dealings with them.
Streets in my barrio do not have names. Houses do not have house numbers. Mail addressed to anyone living in the barrio does not get delivered to that person.by an official mail carrier, because there is no mail carrier. The mail’s journey ends at the post office in the municipality, 7 kilometers away from the barrio, where it is held until someone from the barrio picks it up. Anyone from the barrio who goes to the municipality for one reason or another is expected to stop at the post office to pick up all mail addressed to the barrio. Letter mail and packages pass through different hands with no accountability whatsoever before they reach the intended recipient. Is it a wonder why you never received the Valentine’s gift watch your OFW fiancee sent you from Abu Dhabi?
Yeah, this is pretty common in the rural areas! In the cities it is more like I described on the podcast. There is something “romantic” about living that rural lifestyle, I think! 🙂
It is a good idea to let the person know you are mailing something to them.
The first time I used regular mail. I sent something I wanted to be a surprise. After waiting several weeks after the expected arrival time. I asked if they had received anything in the mail? They haven’t the next day they went to the post office and someone looked in the back and found their package. Maybe the package had just arrived, or maybe it had been there for a while.
I have told my Grandfather, several times, to stop sending money through the mail to the Philippines. He is a pastor and likes to send his sermons to several pastors there at several churches we know and from time to time he used to put some money in those letters some make it, some don’t. After I told him not to send money anymore he sent a cashier’s check. LOL that one didn’t make it either. When he ran a trace on the check it was deposited in a bank in Philadelphia.
Another time when I was visiting the Philippines, right before I left my grandfather went to my business with three official church checks made out to his pastor friends. He wanted me to hand deliver them to these churches. I was thinking, wow this maybe be a problem. So after realizing some of the names was misspelled and knowing how hard to get these checks cashed and fees that could have imposed. I just had the pastors take a picture with the checks. I then personally cashed them for them and when I returned to the states I deposited them in my account here state side. Sometimes it is better to do things the easy way. And not say anything about how something will not work.
Sometimes kinda hard to explain things don’t work the same there as it does here in the US.
Now when he wants to send some money, he just gives me the money, I send it to someone I trust to hand deliver it to the church with what ever type of letter he wants printed up.
But I still sometimes think he does it his way, and just never admits he made a mistake.
I think, James, that letting people know to expect something is good advice. 🙂 Thanks for sharing that.
Posted a small package(400 grams) 2 months ago through registered air mail from Santa Fe(i know it s small) post office, Bantayan Island, Cebu province , paid 1011 pesos(real price for that weightdestination) , was given a tracking number(i saw him putting the tracking number on the box but not the amount of money i paid or any stamp) but i realized that i never got a receipt for the money I paid….(i know i made a mistake by not asking). Guy seemed nice and professional but post office had moved to another location for construction and it looked like it was a chicken farm in a backyard…..but the guy inspected the package , helped me to pack it and gave me the receipt for the tracking.guy seemed nice. i even offered him a 50 pesos tip for the help and he refused saying as a government employee he wasnt supposed to take anything.. told me it would take at least 1 month….but why isn’t it in the system yet ? i texted his post office and had no answer,(i know its his number because i dealt with that post office before) no tracking available on phl post or the italian website. im starting to suspect the guy just took the money and never sent the package. I hope i’m wrong. what do you think?
In the Philippines paying money and not getting a receipt is always a sign of trouble. That’s a huge thing to avoid. Always request a receipt.
yes i know that was really not a good thing to do. i saw him putting the tracking label on the package but that was just the tracking number….there was no label on the package that said i paid 1011 pesos. if the package will ever show up (or not) will comment back here, thanks