Wednesday, May 29, 2013

How to Rent A Post Office (PO) Box in the Philippines

What is a Lock Box?
A Lock Box or popularly known as the Post Office (PO) box allows you to have an alternative address to deliver your mail or package instead of giving your home address.

What is the size of the PO Box?
There are three sizes:
- Small (6 1/2 x 5)
- Medium (6 1/2 x 10 1/2)
- Large (13 x 10 1/2)





How long can I rent a PO box?
You may choose to rent out a box for an entire year or quartly. The quarterly period begins on the first day of January, April, July, and October. Regardless if you rent in February and pay for the full quarter fee, you rental period will still end at the last day of March.

How much to rent a PO Box?

Small
- Php1,000/year
- Php300/quarter

Medium
- Php1,500/year
- Php420/quarter

Large
- Php2,000/year
- Php550/quarter

For new box holders, an additional Php150 will be requested for the lock and keys.

Yearly Rates at the Makati Post Office
I was able to get the quarterly rates by conversation with the Postmaster.


What are the requirements of rent a PO box?
For personal use, you will need
- 1 pcs ID Picture (size 2x2)
- 1 Photocopy of any Valid ID
- Letter of Intent (addressed to the Postmaster)
- PO Box Application Form (Click Here)

Why I will NOT rent a PO Box:



  1. The boxes can easily be accessed. Anyone can enter the vicinity of the PO boxes. The hallway is even offered as a parking space for motorcycles.
  2. The PO Boxes are not maintained at all. Most of the boxes in the Makati branch were extreme rusty.
  3. The price is too expensive given the condition of the PO Boxes. 

I seriously wanted to get a PO box for the privacy of my online purchases; however after seeing the condition at the Makati Central Post Office, where I obtained the information on this blog, I would rather sacrifice my preference for privacy. Though, I would really like to see this renovated or improved. Maybe with in the future? It has so much potential considering that people purchase a lot online nowadays.