Philpost rents out spaces to survive By JM Agreda Sunstar Baguio THE PHILIPPINE Postal Corporation (Philpost) in Baguio City has resorted to leasing out its properties in the city in order to survive. This was revealed by Baguio postmaster Bernardo Kub-aron when he appeared before the City Council last Monday in light of a recent petition from residents questioning the rented out spaces in the Old Post Office Building atop Session Road. The Post Office building, a remnant of the American colonial occupation of Baguio City, was leased out by the government owned and controlled corporation in 2000 to at least 15 establishments including the Postal Bank which pays Philpost some P99,000 a year for rent. Kub-aron said these establishments help Philpost defray cost and meet target collections in the age where only government offices and official communications are the only means to get the much needed income to support their employees. In the age of text messaging and mobile communications, electronic mail and the internet, Kub-aron said they are hard up in mounting their annual target of P3 million in earnings. But these are easily covered by the P300,000 in rentals from establishments including several eateries, sari-sari stores, a bar, and internet shops occupying their building. The postmaster raised his concern of turning over the property to the National Historical Commission (NHC) but expressed the agency’s willingness to adhere to the preservation of the historical building. In fact, Kub-aron said a design plan is already in place for the post office to rehabilitate its façade “but then again funds are unavailable.” Meanwhile, petitioners for the conversion of the Old Post Office Building into a museum want the area declared as a heritage site. Persistent that a museum could be an income generating venture, government employee and Baguio Cinematheque administrator Joel Arthur Tibaldo stressed a postal museum could also generate income through community activities, exhibitions and sale of souvenirs and other memorabilia. Tibaldo cited other postal museums abroad which generate income and contribute to the tourism in the region. As a communication hub in the North, he said, Baguio has been in the map for various firsts in communication history during the American colonial times. His online petition harnessing the power of social media to help advocate for the preservation has now gained thousands of signatures from heritage conservation advocates and longtime and former Baguio residents. Recently, Tibaldo’s petition has already gained more than 200 online signatures aside from support on social networking site Facebook. His petition was not left unnoticed. Through snail mail, postmaster general Josefina Dela Cruz wrote him a letter dated July 12 acknowledging the receipt of their Save the Baguio Post Office post cards. “Please be informed that we are evaluating your proposal and convert it into a museum,” De La Cruz said. Tibaldo said they are still awaiting response from the NHC and the Office of the President on any action on their petition. Meanwhile, in the regular Council session Monday Councilors Leandro and Karminn Yangot filed a resolution to declare the site as heritage site and convert the property to a postal museum. Councilor Betty Lourdes Tabanda, on another resolution, sought for its declaration only as a heritage site. Councilor Elmer Datuin, meanwhile, was instrumental for the inquiry made by the Councilors in the current state of the Philpost property. Councilor Isabelo Cosalan posted questions on lot ownership and boundary delineations of the Post Office buildings and the park beside it. Cosalan, who previously chaired the Committee on Lands Use and Urban Planning, said the current site of the Postal Bank falls within a city government property. The City Council, after hearing explanations from Tibaldo and Kub-aron referred the proposed resolution authored to the Committee on Education and Historical Research chaired by Councilor Peter Fianza.
Posted on: Wed, 31 Jul 2013 06:36:14 +0000
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