30 March 2015 - The Philippine Embassy in Vienna linked the Postal Offices of the Philippines and Austria in a meeting initiated by Philippine Ambassador to Austria Lourdes O. Yparraguirre on February 19 held at the Osterreichische Post AG Headquarters. Austrian Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Post bank, Dr. Georg Pölzl and Philippine Postmaster General Ma. Josefina Mendoza-de la Cruz exchanged information on the features of their offices and the services they offer. Both postal offices committed to meet again at the forthcoming IPC meeting in Seville in May to discuss possible cooperation.
During the meeting, Ambassador Yparraguirre invited the Austrian Post to consider the issuance of a joint commemorative stamp in connection with the forthcoming 70th Anniversary of Philippines–Austria relations in 2016, to celebrate the long history of Philippines-Austria relations which dates back to the Habsburg monarchy during the reign of King Carl V.
In another event, Philippine Postmaster General de la Cruz, who was attending a Eurogiro Board meeting in Vienna as the first and only representative of an Asia Pacific country in the European Board meeting took time to meet the Filipino Community upon arrival in Vienna on 17 February after her courtesy call on the Philippine Ambassador to Austria.
At the outset of the Filipino community meeting, Ambassador Yparraguire made a strong pitch on the importance and increased relevance of Philpost notwithstanding the digital age and the increase in social media as means of communication. The Postmaster General updated the Filipino community in Vienna on the various services delivered by Philpost including money services online. Mr. Wolfgang Hanzl, Head of the Operations Division of BAWAG Bank, who was also present in the Filipino community meeting, announced the launching of money services from Austria through Philpost effective 01 May 2015. Philippine Postmaster General de la Cruz also highlighted the issuance of a new tamper proof postal ID in all its 260 post offices nationwide. The Filipino community in Vienna welcomed the valuable information shared by the Postmaster General and thanked the Embassy for consistently creating awareness on opportunities and services to bring them closer to home. END