MANILA, Philippines?All those who got copies of the complaint of Edsel Pono and sympathized with the Australia-based Filipino, who lost a parcel containing gifts for his daughter that he sent by post, will be happy to know that the problem has been satisfactorily resolved.

Hector R. R. Villanueva, postmaster general and chief executive officer of the Philippine Postal Corporation, said following an investigation, the recipient of the parcel, Grace Stella Pono, was paid P10,425 for the lost items. He also said those responsible for the problem ?will be charged with gross neglect of duty and violation of postal rules and the cost of the lost items will be charged to them.?

The former journalist also gave the assurance that since he was appointed head of the beleaguered Philpost ?we have been focusing our efforts not only to curtail but to eliminate this problem (pilferage/nondelivery) through tighter operational systems and covert security measures.?

He said they were working with the Philippine National Police, National Bureau of Investigation and Bureau of Customs in apprehending and filing appropriate charges against people who commit offenses that hinder Philpost?s operations.

Villanueva ended his letter with this promise to Philpost clients: ?We will continue to reinvent ourselves not only to be competitive but to maintain the trust and confidence of our clients and the general public because we want to serve with pride.?

SSS ID

Nur Ishmael H. Malonzo of Quezon City complained that he had not received his identification card from the Social Security System although he filed his application in November.

The situation was stressful because he was counting on being able to use the SSS ID as legitimate proof of his identity.

Joel P. Palacios, assistant vice president, SSS Media Affairs Department, apologized for the delay and explained that ID production was stopped in August last year ?when the software which performs fingerprint matching broke down.?

He said negotiations with a technology provider that could fix the software took longer than expected.

But he reported that ID production had resumed and SSS was processing applications at the rate of 8,000 per day. He assured Malonzo, ?Since you applied for an SSS ID last November, your ID could be released on or before October.?

Promo backfires

Rubi P. dela Dingco of Cainta, Rizal wants Pilipinas Shell to know about her unhappy experience with its recent promo, Free Fuel and a House, that ran March 15-June 15.

In a letter to the Inquirer, De la Dingco said, ?while? I do not hold Pilipinas Shell responsible,? she wanted the oil company to investigate the problem she had with their promo.

She said she got her car filled up at her suki Felomar IV Shell service station on Marcos Highway on June 14. With the amount of gas she purchased, she should have gotten at least 12 coupons for the promo.

But she said the gas attendant said the service station had run out of coupons, and asked her driver to return the next day to collect them. They asked the cashier to indicate at the back of the official receipt that they had not claimed the coupons.

When they returned the next day there were still no coupons.

De la Dingco said she talked to the administration head of Felomar on June 17 and, after explaining what happened, the service station executive reportedly admitted they were remiss and the customer was entitled to the coupons. De la Dingco said she was told ?I could claim them [coupons] any time that day because the raffle deadline was June 23 or 25.?

But she later found out the promo ended on June 15 and the winners were drawn on June 30.

Following this unhappy experience, De la Dingco decided to file a complaint with the Department of Trade and Industry. The government agency conducted mediation meetings attended by Felomar?s administration head and legal assistant. Dela Dingco said, ?They must have forgotten that even in the mediation meetings, I was still their customer. Instead the legal assistant acted arrogant and defensive.?

She alleged the legal assistant even gave the impression the service station?s employees ?are incompetent, inefficient and ineffective.?

In asking Pilipinas Shell to look into the problem, De la Dingco said the dealer ?was responsible for the incident and put Shell in a bad light.?

Send letters to The Consumer, Lifestyle Section, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 1098 Chino Roces Ave. cor. Mascardo and Yague Sts., 1204 Makati City; fax 8974793/94; or e-mail lbolido@inquirer.com.ph.