Electric tricycles will soon deliver Taguig letters, packages

MANILA, Philippines - Electric tricycles will soon be going around Taguig City to deliver letters and packages, after the city government agreed to assign the environment-friendly vehicles to the local post office for faster and more efficient mail delivery to city residents.

Taguig Mayor Sigfrido Tiñga said, “Here in Taguig, we dub this the ‘e-mail’, because our mails are now going to be delivered right at our doorstep through the e-tricycles. We hope that with the E3s, we can help PhilPost further improve its services to the residents by delivering their mails and parcels at the soonest time possible.”

Tiñga recently turned over the keys of the five E3s to PhilPost Postmaster General Hector R.R. Villanueva during the launching of the Taguig Commemorative Stamps at the Taguig City Auditorium. The E3s will be used by the Philippine Postal Corp. (PhilPost) Branch in Barangay Central Bicutan.

Taguig Assistant Postmaster Perla Macasa said the assigned vehicles will cut the delivery time of letters and packages, and will also ease the burden of the city’s more than 20 mailmen. She said most of the mailmen either commute or walk daily to reach the addressees.

The assignment of vehicles to Taguig’s local post office is the highlight of the historic launching of the Taguig Commemorative Stamps, in celebration of the city’s 422nd Founding Anniversary in April. Taguig is the fourth city in the Philippines to be issued with a commemorative stamp. The Taguig Commemorative Stamps come in four designs, featuring four of the city’s key historical and cultural landmarks: the Taguig City Hall in Barangay Tuktukan, Fort Bonifacio Global City, Archdiocesan Church of St. Anne in Barangay Sta. Ana, and the Blue Mosque in Barangay Maharlika Village.

Philpost has agreed to print, issue and circulate 15,000 stamps for each design. It started issuing the Taguig Commemorative Stamps on June 5.

Villanueva said stamps remain relevant despite the dwindling number of customers who patronize the traditional mailing system, because it is one way of promoting the country’s historical and cultural heritage.

“We, in PhilPost, have always maintained high standards of quality for our stamps. I think that despite the advent of technology, stamps will always be important for purposes of posterity and advertising. And this Taguig stamp is a perfect representation of our country,” Villanueva said. – Rhodina Villanueva