The Philippine Postal Corporation (PHLPost) has opened the 54th Universal Postal Union (UPU) International Letter Writing Competition for Young People, inviting all elementary and high school students, aged 9 to 15, from public and private schools across the country to participate.

The competition, an annual event organized under the auspices of the Universal Postal Union (UPU), encourages young participants to reflect on pressing global issues and propose solutions. This year’s theme asks contestants to “Imagine you are the ocean. Write a letter to someone explaining why and how they should take good care of you.”

The winning entry will represent the Philippines in the worldwide letter-writing competition in Berne, Switzerland. The UPU consists of 192 member countries, with the Philippines as an active participant.

Entries must be handwritten in English and should not exceed 800 words. The letters must include the formal elements of a letter, such as the date, place, salutation, addressee’s address, and signature. The entries must be original works of the participant and should not be generated by AI tools.

Participants must also submit additional information on a separate sheet, including their name, age, school details, and contact information, along with a colored 2x2 photo.

The competition offers cash prizes for the top three winners: P25,000 for the first prize, P20,000 for the second prize, and P15,000 for the third prize. Winners will also receive medals, plaques, and albums of Philippine stamps. E-certificates of participation will be sent to all participants.

The judging criteria include relevance to the theme (30%), creativity and originality (20%), style of writing (20%), vocabulary (20%), and youthfulness of tone (10%).

Entries must be submitted by 5:00 PM on 14 March 2025. Late submissions and those sent through private couriers will be disqualified. All entries should be mailed via Domestic Express Mail Service (DEMS) to PHLPost’s Corporate Communications Division in Manila.

To register, participants must submit a scanned copy of their letter and a high-quality picture through the online registration form at https://bit.ly/PHLPost2025LetterWriting.

For more details, visit PHLPost's official website at www.phlpost.gov.ph or its Facebook page at www.facebook.com/PHLPost. You may also contact Ms. Rianne Aybil U. Penaredondo at corcom@phlpost.gov.ph.

The competition period is from 05 February 2025 to 09 March 2025, and the final winner will be announced by 21 March 2025.