THOUSANDS of schoolchildren joined the 5th National Letter-Writing Day program of the Philippine Postal Corp. (PHLPost) held on Monday to encourage Filipino children to practice the art of writing letters.

DEAR UN CHIEF Children write letters to United Nations secretary general António Guterres during the national day of letter writing held in Quezon City. PHOTO BY RUY L. MARTINEZ

To mark World Post Day, PHLPost invited around 5,000 students to take part in stamp collecting activities and letter-writing contests in SM Mall branches in Cabanatuan, Tarlac, North Edsa, San Pablo City, Seaside Cebu, Iloilo, Davao and Cagayan De Oro City.

“Ang mga kabataan ngayon, hindi na nakakaexperience magsulat ng letter. Yung pagsusulat tinetreasure dapat ‘yan. Iba ‘yung experience ng pagsusulat kaysa paggamit ng technology (children no longer write letters. Letter writing should be treasured. It’s a different experience),” said PHLPost officer Alvin Fidelson.

“To the children, [letter-writing] is something that they have to adopt. 20 years from now when they are all professionals, it will be something that they will cherish because it comes from the heart,” Assistant Post Master General Luis Carlos said.

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Through the letter-writing contest, PHLPost aims to find a participant who will represent the Philippines in the international letter writing contest to be held at Universal Postal Union (UPU) headquarters in Berne, Switzerland.

In 2014, Ashley Abalos bagged the bronze medal in the International Letter-Writing Competition for Young People.

Abalos, writing on the theme “how music can touch lives,” wrote to a blind musician she heard at a public concert.

A portion of her letter said: “Through your music, you are able to open the eyes of many even if you yourself cannot see.”

This year, participants were asked to write a letter to the United Nations secretary general.

16-year-old Michael Laroco from Manuel Roxas High School said he asked UN chief António Guterres to do something about the extrajudicial killings in the country.

“Sinulat ko po ‘yung tungkol sa sunud-sunod na pagpatay sa mga kabataan, nasasangkot man sa droga o hindi. Sana po matigil na (I wrote about the killing of teenagers, whether they were into drugs or not. I hope it will stop),” he said.