[ PPC PHILPOST CIRCULAR NO. 09-15, April 16, 2009 ]
OPERATING PROCEDURES OF EXPRESS MAIL SERVICE OFFICE (EMSO-CMEC) AS AN INWARD OFFICE OF EXCHANGE (OE) AND DELIVERY OFFICE FOR THE EMS COMMITTED DOOR TO DOOR DELIVERY SERVICE IN VIEW OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE EMS PAY FOR PERFORMANCE PLAN
On 01 January 2009, the Philippine Postal Corporation participated in the EMS Pay for Performance Plan which is a mandatory requirement of the EMS Cooperative - Universal Postal Union for postal administrations operating EMS. It aims to improve service performance of EMS to be at par with global standards.
To be able to meet the requirements of the EMS Pay for Performance Plan, the following Guidelines and Procedures in the Operations of the Express Mail Service Office (EMSO) - CMEC as the Inward Office of Exchange (OE) and Delivery Office (DO) shall be implemented, effective immediately.
B. GENERAL GUIDELINES OF OPERATIONS
1. Responsibilities of the Express Mail Service Office, (CMEC)
The Express Mail Service Office (EMSO) at the Central Mail Center (CMEC) shall serve as the Inward Office of Exchange (OE) and at the same time, Delivery Office (DO) for Metro Manila and other areas committed to the door to door express delivery of EMS. As such, it shall perform the following functions:
Processing Center and Inward Office of Exchange (OE) for inbound international express item (EMS Imports)
Outward Office of Exchange (Outward OE) for outbound international Express Mails (EMS Exports)
Delivery Office (DO) for the committed EMS door to door delivery service in Metro Manila and adjacent cities and municipalities
Central Repository of all EMS Event Information both for inbound and outbound express items.
Operates the Customer Service and Rugby Systems
2. Event Information/ Tracking Events to be provided by the Express Mail Service Office (EMSO) as Office of Exchange and Delivery Office (DO)
The following tracking information shall be generated by the Express Mail Service Office and sent to Postnet.
2.1 For Inbound (Imports), as provided for in the Pay for Performance Plan
D Arrival at the Inward Office of Exchange Unsuccessful Delivery E Sent to Customs Successfully Delivery F Send items from Inward OE 2.2 For Outbound Items (Exports)
C Departure from Outward Office of Exchange
C. GUIDELINES AND PROCEDURES AT THE INWARD OFFICE OF EXCHANGE (OE)
1. Operating Guidelines, Receipt of EMS Items from Airline Representatives and Ground Handlers to
Receiving Clerks shall check all the pertinent documentations (AV-7, Boat Notes, and shipping manifests) and the condition of bags, actual weight, seals and shipping tags, delivery bills, (CN-38) to ascertain the condition of dispatches upon receipt.
Actual number of bags shall be counted as against the actual number of bags indicated in the delivery Bill (CN-38)
For Containerized Loose Mal Container (CTM), integrity of seals of the container shall be checked before receiving the item. The actual number of items per container shall be counted as against internal manifest of the CTM Dispatch Bill.
All received mail bags shall be scanned in the computer to record receipt of dispatches.
2. Treatment of Mailbags Received Damaged and With Irregularities
Dispatches/mailbags received with damage or in bad/abnormal condition shall be immediately noted in the dispatch documents, requiring airline representatives to sign/countersign in the dispatch bills.
In case of serious damage or irregularities noted on the mailbags, all the contents shall be checked and inventoried by the receiving clerks, airline representatives the guard on duty, to be supervised by the Section Chiefs or Chief of Division concerned.
A Bulletin (CN-43) shall be immediately prepared and sent to the sending postal administration in case of items received in damaged or abnormal conditions.
3. Treatment of Missent Mailbags
Mailbags inadvertently missent by airlines shall not be accepted but returned immediately to airline representatives.
4. Separation of Mail Dispatches, Documents and Merchandise
Mail dispatches marked EM (Merchandise) shall be separated from those marked ED (Documents).
Mixed Dispatches marked (EN) shall be processed by the Parcel Post Unit, after which the document items shall be forwarded to the letter post processing unit under receipt.
Receiving Clerks shall forward all Document dispatches to the Letter Post Processing Unit and Merchandise items to the Parcel Post Processing Unit.
5. Opening of Mailbags and Receipt of Individual Items
5.1 Document Items
Condition of security seals of mailbags containing document items shall be checked for integrity before opening.
In case of irregularity, it shall be noted in the internal manifest requiring the guard on duty to witness and confirm the discrepancy.
A report shall be prepared addressed to the Manager, EMS for preparation of necessary Bulletin to sending postal administration.
Upon opening, the individual items shall be individually scanned, (Event D , Arrival at the Office of Exchange) and account the actual number of pieces indicated in the computer and that in the Internal Manifest.
Items received in good condition shall be updated in the computer with notation Normal and those with irregularities to be provided with standard service notations provided for in the International Postal Systems (IPS).
5.2 Merchandise Items
Condition of security seals of mailbags containing merchandise items shall be checked for integrity before opening.
Opening of merchandise bags/dispatches shall be made only when there are customs examiners present
In case of irregularity, it shall be noted in the internal manifest requiring the guard on duty to witness and confirm the discrepancy.
A report shall be prepared addressed to the Manager, EMS for preparation of necessary Bulletin to sending postal administration
Upon opening, the individual items shall be individually scanned, (Event D , Arrival at the Office of Exchange) and account the actual number of pieces indicated in the computer and that in the Internal Manifest.
Items received in good condition shall be updated in the computer with notation Normal and those with irregularities to be provided with standard service notations provided for in the International Postal Systems (IPS)
The Rugby Systems shall be updated indicating the actual condition of the item when received at the Inward (OE)
In case of open or unbagged dispatches, the dispatch numbers and the EMS numbers shall be encoded in the computer
5.3 Treatment of Items Received in Bad Conditions and with Irregularities
Express items received in bad condition shall be properly indicated and in the computer based on the existing standard service notations provided in the IPS Systems.
A Bulletin (CN-43) shall be prepared and send to the origin postal administration.
Damage on the item shall be properly repaired with packaging tapes with the official markings of EMS or CMEC by the officials duly designated to do so, and if necessary, placed inside plastic envelopes. The damaged portions shall be initialed by the officials who repaired the items countersigned by the Chief of Section/Division concerned.
Items that are significantly/totally damaged shall be inventoried in the presence of the Division Chief concerned, witnessed by the Guard on Duty. It shall be placed in plastic envelopes and a copy of the CN-43 enclosed inside plastic bag/envelopes and countersigned by the Officials concerned.
Report on the total of items received in bad order, damaged condition and those with irregularities shall also be submitted to the Manager, EMS on daily basis, including the actions taken thereof.
5.4 Presentation to Customs for Inspection
Base d on the existing Memorandum of Agreement between the Philippine Postal Corporation, and the Bureau of Customs, imported parcels/merchandise shall be marked as follows:
a. Passed - those items that were passed by customs which are not taxable or tax exempt all items marked passed shall be forwarded to destination office for delivery.
b. Forward - items intended to mail distribution centers and post offices with customs offices and customs examiners assigned items marked forward shall be forwarded to the provincial dispatching section for processing and dispatch.
c. Subject to Customs Examination - items that are intended to the door to door delivery coverage of EMSO and to post offices without customs offices Items marked Subject shall be forwarded to EMS Customs Warehouse.
5.5 Sorting and Dispatch Procedures (Documents and Merchandise)
For Merchandize items, The Parcel Post Processing Unit shall observe the following sorting selections:
- For items intended to Committed Zones, (Marked Passed) the list of which are shown on Annex A [*]
- Those intended to air mail points (Marked Forward) the sorting selections of which are indicated in Annex B [*]
- Those intended to non-air destination (Marked Forward), the Make-up of dispatches of which are prescribed in Annex C [*]
- Those for Customs Inspection (Marked Subject)
- Erratic Consignments (Without names, address, etc which are undeliverable)
Document items shall follow the same dispatch procedures, however without the required markings of the Bureau of Customs
After sorting of all items documentation, scanning and manifest shall be prepared intended to each destination and shall be turned-over under receipt, or left to the guard on duty for turn-over to the next shift.
Dispatches intended to provincial destinations shall be provided with three (3) copies of internal manifest, the 3rd Copy of which shall be returned to EMS pursuant to Philpost Circular No. 09-08 dated 05 January 2009.
5.6 Mail Accounting and Management of Inventory
At the end of each day, the Chief, Inbound Section shall conduct an inventory and mail accounting as to the number of pieces received, by the Office vis-a-vis the number of items forwarded to each destination.
5.7 Procedures in the Processing of Mails Intended for Provincial Destination
Prior to receipt and processing of the items from Inbound Section, the receiving clerks of provincial dispatching section shall count all items for processing of each unit (Air and Non-air)
Each item shall be checked, noting the condition of the item prior to sorting
The Air and Non-Air Units of the Provincial Dispatching Section shall observe the following Sorting Selections indicated in Annex B [*] and Annex C [*] .
After sorting all the items shall be encoded in the computer, (Event F [*] ) All the contents shall be checked and a copy of the Internal Manifest shall be printed in three (3) copies.
The Unit Chief or his/her designate shall count and check each individual item, making sure that all the items are listed in the Internal Manifest before closing the bag. Mail bags shall be sealed, weighed and proper documentation shall be observed.
An airway bill shall be prepared indicating the dispatch number, seal number, bag number, and weight destination of each dispatch.
All dispatches shall be turned-over to Couriers and Armcot under receipt,
Two copies of the internal manifest shall be inserted on each bag, including the 3rd copy which will be returned to CMEC.
5.8 Forwarding of IEMS to EMS Customs Warehouse
All express items marked Subject by Customs shall be separated from others marked Passed and Forward.
The items shall be scanned (Event E, Sent to Customs) and provided with separate Control Numbers for easy location at the warehouse. A copy of the transfer Manifest shall be retained at the Inbound Section.
D. GUIDELINES AND PROCEDURES AS A COMMITTED DOOR TO DOOR DELIVERY OFFICE (DO)
1. Turn-over of mails for delivery to Area Dispatchers
Consignments for delivery in the committed Zones shall be turned over to areas supervisors with internal manifest and under receipt.
Before receiving the items, supervisors shall check the items for damage and signs of irregularities.
Items discovered with irregularities, shall be reported immediately to the Unit Chief of merchandize or Letter Post Section and to the Chief, IEMS for notation and immediate preparation of report.
For letter post items, Area Dispatchers shall then sort all the items according to the delivery areas of letter carriers.
A record on the number of pieces shall be made by dispatchers before turning them over to letter carriers. Letter Carriers shall be required to receive the number of items for delivery under receipt, providing each with a Document Releasing Slip, indicating therein the name of letter carrier and the number of pieces of express items released to them.
After the turn-over of Area Dispatchers, they shall account the number of consignments they received and the number of items they released to letter carriers under their jurisdiction.
If after accounting of all items, there is a discrepancy between the received items and those issued to Letter Carriers, the Area Dispatchers shall immediately inform the Area Supervisors and hold the departure of all letter carriers under his jurisdiction. All mails shall be re-accounted and inspected until such time that the missing items are reconciled or found.
2. Receipt of Mails by Letter Carriers Intended for Delivery and Departure from Delivery Office
Letter carriers shall check the condition of express items before receiving them. If irregularities are noted, it shall be reported to his area in-charge immediately. Actual number shall be verified and checked on the number of items received for his delivery.
Letter carriers shall then sort the items according to their delivery beats. Undeliverable items shall be immediately separated from deliverable items, noted at the Document Releasing Slips, and a separate Delivery Notification List shall be prepared.
Delivery Notification Lists of Items to be forwarded to Erratic Unit shall be checked and initial before turn-over to the Erratic Unit.
After walk sorting, and accounting of mails, the letter carriers shall proceed to DNL Encoders for encoding and preparation to Delivery Notification List (DNL).
Letter Carriers shall present their Document or Parcel Releasing Slips (EMS Form 01), Annex D [*] before encoding of mails for delivery shall be made by the assigned encoders.
After printing, letter carriers shall verify the contents of the DNL versus the actual items for delivery.
Actual number of mails for delivery and the Delivery Notification List shall be checked before allowing letter carriers to leave the Delivery Office. The items for delivery shall be checked by the following officials:
- The Area Supervisors
- Representative for Letter Post Unit
- Representative for the Parcel Post Unit
- The Guard on Duty
The DNL shall be initialed by all the officers concerned or indicate that said postman has already been checked.
Departing letter carriers shall be required to accomplish and sign EMS Form 02 (Annex D [*] )
3. Door to Door Delivery Procedures
Delivery Supervisors at EMSO shall orient letter carriers assigned in their respective areas very post offices shall train/orient their letter carriers on the EMS Standard Service Notations indicated in Annex E [*] of this EMS Operations Guide
EMS addressed to the residence of the addressee shall be delivered to the addressee or to the following:
- Authorized representative (in writing)
- Responsible member of the family, that is spouse, parent, and children who is at least 18 years of age
For EMS items addressed at an office, school, university, association, hospital, company, or similar institution or entity, the mail matter may be delivered to the office of the head entity, or designated central delivery point or the office responsible for the receipt of inbound communications.
Consignments addressed to the person, firm, corporation, association or institution without Care of shall be considered addressed to the person or firm and delivered thereto. Those with senders notation care of shall be delivered to addressee if he so directs, or to any of the two persons (the addressee or the care of) whoever is present during the time of delivery, in the absence of senders restrictions or instruction, the item may be delivered to the person to whom the item is cared of if the addressee is not around during the delivery.
EMS items whether documents or merchandise for delivery at condominiums and high rise buildings shall be delivered to the addressee within the building premises. However, if the building administration prohibits entry or delivery within building, it shall be delivered to addressee or their duly authorized representative at the designated central delivery point on the first floor. In the absence of designated places or person, only the EMS Notice card shall be delivered to the person assigned to receive mails at the first floor who shall be requested to write on the article Received Notice followed by his signature and date of delivery of the notice to him.
Consignments bearing sender s instruction Deliver to Addressee only shall be delivered to the Addressee only and not to other person, even with written order nor on the strength of a Special Power of Attorney. The word Personal Confidential and others of similar instructions by the sender shall not be construed as endorsement restricting delivery to the addressee only.
Consignments addressed to a minor or an insane person living with or under the control of his/her parents or guardian shall be delivered to the parents or guardians. If the item bears restriction Deliver to the Addressee Only, it shall be treated as undeliverable and returned to sender, or request the sending administration to contact the sender for advice.
EMS consignments addressed to a deceased person shall be returned immediately to the sender.
EMS items addressed to post office box shall be turned-over to the post office where the Post Office Box is located. Upon the turnover of the EMS item to the post office, the event shall be considered Successful Delivery (Event I ).
In case nobody can take delivery of an Express Mail matter on the first trip of the letter carrier, a second trip shall be made to effect delivery thereof, unless the addressee has permanently left the place or is not expected to return within the required period the article may be held. If still cannot be delivered, the notice card therefore shall be left the address.
A recipient of an Express Mail shall be required by the letter carrier to sign his or her name legibly on the proper space in the EMS Delivery Book and in the Proof of Delivery, attached to the item. If such signature is not legible, the recipient shall be required to, or the carrier himself should write in print the recipient full name beneath such signature.
Proper identification shall be required to the addressee, requiring presentation of the following valid identification:
Postal I.D. Voter s I.D. w/ Voter s Affidavit Latest School I.D. P.R.C. I. D. Company I.D. SSS I.D./GSIS E-Card Driver s License Senior Citizen s I.D. Passport All item should have been provided with service notations, either with attempted delivery/failed delivery or successful delivery.
4. Event Information Classified as Attempted Delivery (Standard Reasons and Measures)
All the Reasons and Measures provided in the Standard EMS Service Notations contained in Annex E [*] are treated as attempted delivery as if the express commitment was already provided even when the delivery attempt is not successful
Preparation and delivery of notices for items subjected to customs inspection are also treated as attempted deliveries as defined by the EMS Cooperative
Delivery notices however shall be delivered under receipt to comply with the requirements to be treated as such.
As such, at the end of the day upon the arrival of the items, event information should be provided to comply with the requirements of the Cooperative.
5. Treatment of Undeliverable and Unsuccessful Deliveries at the Erratic Unit
All items considered undeliverable for reasons, without addressees name, incomplete address shall be [provided with standard notations/reasons Unsuccessful Delivery (Event H) with measures Returned to Sender or Addressee Contacted if the telephone number of the addressee is indicated.
Items for Return to Sender (RTS) shall be immediately returned to the sending administration
The addressee of express Items with indicated telephone numbers shall be contacted and informed to collect the item from the delivery office. In case the addressee requests for door to door delivery,
After the first delivery attempt, a second attempt shall be made and if still unsuccessful, a notification shall be left under receipt by any member of the household.
Items unclaimed after 15 days shall be immediately returned to sender by the EMS Window Delivery Unit and the Erratic Unit.
6. Delivery of EMS items Subject to Customs Examination
EMS Notices shall be prepared immediately upon marking Subject to Customs Examination by the Customs Examiners. It shall be turned over to Letter Carriers under receipt the next working day and recorded manually by letter carriers on their DNL.
Notices shall be delivered to the addressee, or any members of the household under receipt. Two attempts shall be made by EMS letter Carriers after which, it shall be left at the letter boxes of the addressee.
When claiming the item, the addressee shall be required to present the EMS Notice, and his/her identification. Postal employees shall locate the item at the EMS Customs warehouse and present to the Customs Examiners.
Upon computation and payment of taxes, the item inspected shall be closed with official packaging tapes with EMS markings.
The addressee shall be required to sign in the EMS notice acknowledging receipt of the item
Presentation of Customs Charges shall be collected before release of express items at the EMS Customs Bonded Warehouse.
Immediately after release, the EMS Notice shall be encoded in the computer to update the Event I or Successful Delivery
7. Payment of Presentation to Customs Charges (PTCC)
Presentation to Customs Charges shall be collected on all merchandize items (pouch or parcel) that had passed through customs inspection, whether Passed or Subjected to Customs Examination.
PTCC however shall not be charged on items intended to P.O. boxes, Embassies, Government Offices, schools and charitable institutions, and those with franking privileges.
All Presentation to Customs Charge Collections shall be remitted to the cashier/collecting officer at the end of the day.
8. Return of Letter Carriers from Delivery
The Guard on Duty shall check the number of items returned by letter carriers and indicate in their blotter the number of returned items, time of return and the condition of the items when it was returned in the delivery office.
The Chief of the Delivery Section, or Zone Supervisors, whoever is present shall check the Delivery Notification List (DNL) and account the number of items that were delivered and undelivered. DNL shall also be checked making sure that proper service notations are indicated for each undelivered items.
E. COLLECTION, CONSOLIDATION ENCODING OF ALL EVENT INFORMATION AND SAFEKEEPING OF DELIVERY NOTIFICATION LIST (DNL) AND PROOF OF DELIVERIES (POD)
The Track and Trace Division shall be responsible for the consolidation, encoding and safekeeping of all Delivery Notification List (DNL) and all Event Information coming from the provinces.
The Chief, Track and Trace Division shall make a check list of all committed delivery areas and post offices on daily basis, and shall prepare report to the Manager, EMS as to what areas and which post offices failed to submit the required event information and PODs.
Before 11AM, or prior to sending of the EDI to the Universal Postal Union EMS database in Berne, Switzerland, the Chief Track and Trace Division shall make sure that all the DNLs and PODs are accounted and encoded. In case of non-completion, a report shall be made immediately addressed to the Manage r, EMS identifying areas that were not encoded and the reason for failure to encode.
1. Operations of the EMS Customer Service
The EMS Customer Service, under the Track and Trace Division, shall be responsible for:
- Answering calls and queries from other postal administrations, and customers both foreign and local.
- Making queries from other postal administrations and post offices, both local and international and regarding status of express items.
- Management and Operations of the Rugby System
- Preparation and Issuances of Bulletins (CN 43)
- Prepare replies on formal queries filed by postal administration for signature of the Division Chief, of the International Express Mail Division - Prepare replies on queries of domestic post offices, MDCs, Regional Offices2. Processing of items Subjected to Customs Examination Intended to post offices without customs offices
Express items Subjected to Customs Examination that are intended to provincial post offices without customs offices shall be presented to Customs Examiners by postal employees assigned in the warehouse for assessment.
The items shall be opened both in the presence of postal employee and the examiners of the Bureau of Customs.
If the item is subject to payment of tax, the Customs Examiners shall prepare an Informal Entry (IE) which will be attached to the item.
The item shall be closed by postal employees concerned using official packaging tapes of Philpost.
All the items returned by the Bureau of Customs with attached Informal Entries shall be turned over to the Provincial Dispatching Section for dispatch to the provinces. It shall be scanned at the computer with notation Released from Customs , Event F.
F. OTHER PROVISIONS
The Performance of the Committed Areas under the EMS Operational Guide shall be monitored by the International Affairs Department (IAD) under the Assistant Postmaster General for Operations and the Management Information Systems Department (MIS) under the Assistant Postmaster General for Information Technology on daily basis.
MIS shall forward all event information from the IPS to the Postal Technology Center in Singapore to monitor service performance, anomalies and items without delivery information using the Business Process Monitoring System (BPMS) of PTC.
On Quarterly basis, the Express Mail Service Office, (EMS) the Domestic Operations Services Department (DOSD), International Affairs Department (IAD) and Management Information Systems Department shall conduct a quarterly review of the EMS Operational Guide for submission to the Universal Postal Union-EMS Unit, Berne, Switzerland.
Any modifications and Amendments on this Operations Manual shall be subject to the approval of the Assistant Postmaster General for Operations.
All other orders in conflict herewith is hereby modified and superseded accordingly.
Adopted: 16 Apr. 2009
(SGD.) HECTOR R.R. VILLANUEVA
Postmaster General & CEO
[*] Text Available at Office of the National Administrative Register, U.P. Law Complex, Diliman, Quezon City.