The Philippine Post Office Still Sucks

The Philippine post office, PHLPost, still sucks. At the beginning of April I ordered a book from the United Kingdom. By August it had still not arrived so I emailed the seller asking if they had tracking information. They replied by saying it had been more than sixty days so they were unable to replace the book. As if that was my question! I just wanted to know where it was.

Turns out it was sitting in Manila the whole time!

This package arrived in Manila on June 12th. However the local post office did not receive it until exactly four months later on October 12th. 

A second book I ordered around the same time was also taking an unusually long time to arrive. In August I emailed the seller asking for tracking information and they said they would send another copy. That means I had potentially two packages to be on the look out for assuming the first one had not gotten lost in the mail.

In an odd twist they both arrived on the same date at my local post office, November 11th, and I received them both on November 15th. Like the first package they had both been sitting in Manila for months. 

Arrived in Manila August 14th

Arrived in Manila September 15th

How is it that these packages arrived within a month of each other, sat collecting dust, and then arrived at the local post office on the same day? That's the magic of the incompetent and inept Philippine postal system. 

It's sad that I have to be thankful they even arrived. Here's what I ordered in case you are wondering. 

What am I going to do with two editions of The Faerie Queen? Thanks PHLPost!

Another Late Delivery From PhilPost

On July 13th, 2021 I ordered two books from the Book Depository which is in London. For some unknown reason the packages did not arrive in the Philippines until January. I understand it takes a long time for mail to reach this backwater in Southeast Asia but during that same timeframe I ordered a book from the USA in September which arrived a month later. A seven month wait for a package to enter the Philippines is ridiculous. Did it get stuck in China? 

Even more ridiculous is that it took a month and a half for PhilPost to send these books my way and then a further two weeks until I finally received them on March 22, 2022. That is completely unacceptable. What is up with PhilPost? Why are they so slow? 

If you are wondering what the books I ordered are, well here you go:

I would say these are the last books I will ever order again but that's not likely. How much longer will it take for them to be delivered next time?

Coronavirus Questions: Why Is The Mail So Slow?

Ever since Duterte ordered Luzon to be locked down back in March 2020 the mail has been incredibly slow. Much slower than usual. Why is this the case? When no flights were allowed in or out of Manila that was understandable. But now there is simply no reason for the mail to lag months behind schedule. 

I ordered some books in August and again in October. The package I ordered in August entered the country on September 30th. It was not delivered to my local post office until December 3rd and to me until December 18th! 

Why did it sit in Manila for so long? Were they disinfecting it? 

The books I ordered in October arrived in the country in October which was pretty fast.

Other marks on the box indicate it arrived at my local post office on January 16th. It was then delivered to me on January 20th. Again, why? Why is PhilPost so slow? 

Another package I ordered in October arrived in Manila on the 14th of December, sat for I don't know how long until it was received at my local post office on the 25th of January, and finally delivered to me on March 2nd. 

Since the pandemic I have had several packages sent via UPS and they all arrived at my door within two weeks. So what is the problem? I asked the postman and he had no idea. There is no indication on these boxes that they were subjected to any tests and even if they were it shouldn't take several months for me to receive them once they arrive in the country.

Last year when Duterte shut down Luzon the mail stopped completely. That resulted in me not receiving a very important letter. I waited as long as I could but that letter was ultimately lost and I had to make a call and request it be resent via UPS. I got it two weeks later.

The mail being so slow is a real problem because the government is encouraging more online shopping. If the mail system is not properly working then online shopping is not going to work either. Without a smooth and quick process of placing an order and receiving it in a timely manner no one is going to want to shop online. But on the other hand it appears that many online sellers use couriers and not PhilPost. LBC, JRS, Ninja Van, and the like are all very efficient. PhilPost could learn a lot from those companies. If PhilPost were efficient they could bring in a lot of money.