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In 1968, the Secretary of
Public Works, Transportation and Communications attempted to help the Philippine
Government raise revenue by awarding a contract to a foreigner who would
print and market Philippine postage stamps solely for philatelic purposes.
But this move precipitated a great many protests and controversies,
resulting in the cancellation of the stamp contract and the subsequent
filing of a court motion in the Philippines by a foreign
contractor against the Bureau of Posts.
It was April of 1968 when
Antonio V. Raquiza, Secretary of Public Works,
Transportation and Communications of the Philippines,
went to the United
States to negotiate financial aid for
the proposed construction of public highways. While in New York City, Secretary Raquiza was introduced to a local stamp dealer, Ezzet Mosden, who proposed
the idea that he would print and sell Philippine stamps. It was further
proposed that Mosden would finance the project,
and in return be granted exclusive rights to handle the printing and sale
of these stamps.
Probably impressed with an
idea that would enable the Philippine government to gain an annual income
of a few million dollars through the sale of postage stamps, Secretary Raquiza accepted the proposal and entered into an
agreement with Parco International, as represented by Ben Dunbee and Ezzet Mosden, sometime between June and August 1968. The
contract appointed Parco International as the sole and exclusive agent for
the establishment of a philatelic agency to print, promote, and sell
postage stamps of the Republic of the Philippines
anywhere except the Philippines
for a period of five years. It further provided that Parco International
would receive a commission of twenty percent of the proceeds of the stamps
sales.
The exact date of the
signing of the contract between Secretary Raquiza
and Parco International cannot be ascertained, with indications that it was
formalised on June 24, 1968. Others maintain it was June 26th with further
reports that the contract was entered into by the two parties on August 19,
1968. In any event, the whole proceeding was kept in utmost secrecy
until Secretary Raquiza returned to the Philippines.
Contrary to Secretary Raquiza’s expectations, Enrico Palomar, an attorney who
was then the Philippine Postmaster General, was opposed to the whole idea
and would not abide by the signed contract. It turned out that Secretary Raquiza had violated the normal procedures in the
awarding of such a contract, in the following ways:
· It must be the Postmaster
General, not the Secretary of Public Works, Transportation and Communications,
who signs any contract regarding the printing and/or sale of Philippine
postage stamps.
· The awarding of contracts,
particularly those for printing and sale of Philippine stamps, should be
through public bidding.
· The Stamp and Philatelic
Section of the Bureau of Posts should design all Philippine stamps, to
ensure that only correct and approved designs are printed, and proper
security measures taken.
Since these procedures had
been ignored by Secretary Raquiza, the Postal
Authority refused to recognise the validity of the contract.
In the meantime, Mosden had already formed a corporation in the name of
the Philippine Philatelic Agency Inc (PPA) and
had prepared designs for two sets of stamps, which he later commissioned
Harrison and Sons Ltd of London
and Format International Security Printers to print. The first set of
stamps was a series celebrating the 19th Olympiad, held in Mexico City in
1968. The second issue was to commemorate the International Civil and Human
Rights Year, and would honor Fighters for Civil
and Human Rights. This second issue is now better known as the Kennedy Mosden Issue.
The Mexico Olympic issue
comprised four different designs. Printed in sheets of fifty stamps by
Harrison and Sons Limited, London, England. The eight stamps exist both
perforated and imperforate. Two imperforate souvenir sheets were also
issued. The following values were printed:
· 1c postage stamp (depicting
stamp and Olympic torch) - 1,000,000
· 2c postage stamp (depicting
flags of Nations) - 300,000
· 3c postage stamp (depicting
flags of Mexico and Philippines) - 300,000
· 15c postage stamp (depicting
discus thrower, Olympic torch and rings) - 100,000
· 50c airmail stamp (depicting
stamp and Olympic torch) - 50,000
· 1p airmail stamp (depicting
flags of Mexico and Philippines) - 50,000
· 2p airmail stamp (depicting
discus thrower, Olympic torch and rings) - 10,000
The Kennedy Mosden issue comprised five different designs which
carried portraits of the Kennedy family. Printed in sheetlets
of ten stamps by Format International Security Printers, with total
quantities printed of each value remaining unknown. The five stamps exist
both perforated and imperforate. Two imperforate souvenir sheets were also
issued. The following values were printed:
· 1c and 10p Souvenir Sheet
showing the entire Kennedy clan, from patriarch Joseph P. Kennedy through
brother-in-law and movie actor Peter Lawford (a
total of 14 family members in all)
· 2c featuring John and Robert
Kennedy
· 3c depicting Robert
Kennedy’s family
· 5p showing John F. Kennedy
delivering his presidential address, with Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson
sitting beside him
· 10p and 5c Souvenir Sheet
showing foreign dignitaries at John F. Kennedy’s funeral possession
The designs of the Mosden issues gave the appearance of trying to cash in
on the popularity of the Kennedy family. However, Mosden
later argued, somewhat off the point, that his actions were entirely
justified, as his contract with Secretary Raquiza
explicitly gave him full authority to select and print designs without
further consultations with the Philippine government.
Meanwhile, the Philippine
press received word of the contract and Mosden’s
stamp designs, and relentlessly bombarded the whole issue with sheer
mockery and criticisms. This brought about stinging questions about the
justification of the inclusion of the Kennedy family, particularly Joseph
and Robert Kennedy’s immediate relations, as fighters for human rights.
This argument was further fuelled by the fact that there were no Filipinos
depicted as great fighters for human and civil rights, despite formidable
heroes such as Rizal, Bonifacio and Mabini to name a few. To top things up, the 10p stamp
depicting various heads of state who attended John F Kennedy’s funeral in
1963 did not include President Macapagal, who
attended the funeral in person.
Prior to the scheduled
release of the Mexico Olympic series (originally set for October 12, 1968),
Mosden travelled to Manila to meet local stamp
dealers and to make some important announcements. Two meetings were held
with prominent local collectors and philatelic dealers, both of which ended
up in stale-mate due to protests and complaints mounted from the dealers
about the validity of the contract and the legality of such an agreement.
Sensing it was futile for Mosden to try to persuade local dealers to accept his
proposition to buy and sell the stamps he had printed, he set up a branch
of the PPA in Manila.
Cesar O. Borromeo was appointed branch manager and newsletters were sent to
local philatelists asking those who were interested in buying new
Philippine stamps to make reservations through his office.
The Bureau of Posts,
however, remained firm in its decision neither to honor
the contract nor to recognise the Mosden-printed
stamps as bona fide postal papers. Without the official recognition of the
Philippine Postal Administration, these stamps were considered to be labels
and not valid for postage. The stamps were refused official sanction based
on the following reasons:
1. The stamps were printed
without the approval of the Philippine Postal Administration.
2. No representative from the
Philippine Postal Administration was present to oversee when the stamps
were printed.
3. The quantity of stamps
printed was not known to the Philippine Postal Administration.
Because of the numerous
controversies involved, these Mosden stamps were
brought to the attention of stamp dealers and collectors abroad. It was
further highlighted that the inclusion of imperforates and high-valued
souvenir sheets were regarded as oddities intentionally produced to mulct
philatelists cash. Meanwhile, in the Philippines, and acting on
mounting objections coming from both stamp collectors and dealers,
President Ferdinand Marcos temporarily halted the issuance of these stamps
in November 1968, and instructed Secretary Raquiza
to stop the release of certain stamps. This is supported by the following
cable sent by Mosden from London:
�Shortly before I planned to
release the stamps for sale, I received a cable advising me that President
Marcos of the Philippines wished to cancel some of the denominations in the
Kennedy and Olympics series, and was prepared to ensure that I was
compensated. I accepted the President�s proposal and asked that the
Ambassador of the Philippines in London be instructed to meet the
printers� costs and other expenses that had been incurred. I waited in
London for a reply, and as none was received, I advised the Philippine
Embassy in London, and cabled President Marcos, Secretary Raquiza and the Philippine Postmaster General that if I
did not receive any objection I should release the stamps for sale on
December 5.
I waited until December 6, and as
no objection had been received, I started selling the stamps. I again
cabled President Marcos, Secretary Raquiza and
the Postmaster General advising them that I was selling the stamps to meet
the printing cost and expenses, and that I would account to the Philippine
Post Office for the net proceeds.
On December 7, I received a cable
asking me to send the stamps to the Philippine Postal Fiscal Service Chief
and on December 13, I again received the following cable from Secretary Raquiza:
xxxxE. Mosden,
London Hilton Hotel, London, England
xxxxYour action approved. Stamps will be on
sale at local post offices upon receipt.
xxxxSecretary Antonio Raquiza
Despite the foregoing, the
stamps were never officially issued in any of the Philippine post offices.
It was later discovered that the stamps sent by Mosden
(as mentioned in the cable) were not released by the Bureau of Posts
irrespective of Secretary Raquiza’s direct order
to do so. Mrs Teofila Garcia, the Postal Fiscal
Service Chief at that time, reportedly withheld the issuance on the ground
that Mosden has yet to submit an accounting of
the printed stamps that should tally with the report of the London security
printer.
Meanwhile, Mosden concentrated the sale of his stamps abroad. This
move further antagonised Philippine stamp dealers, who then grouped
together and launched a campaign protesting the sale of these Mosden labels outside the Philippines. However, on May
23, 1969, with hardly anyone’s knowledge, ranking postal officials
including Jose J. Leido Jr, then the Assistance
Executive Secretary but acting with the authority of President Marcos, authorised the Postmaster General to release two
different Mosden stamps for postal and philatelic
purposes. These were the 2c stamp of the Kennedy issue and the 2c stamp of
the Mexico
Olympic issue. The former was ordered to be released on June 10, 1971 and the
latter on July 10, 1971. The presidential authority further specified that
the denominations to be released should not contain any errors in design.
Mysteriously, however, these
two stamps never appeared at any post offices when the time came for their
issuance. It turned out that Manuel Syquio, the
Acting Secretary of Public Works, Transportation and Communications at that
time (Raquiza having taken a leave of absence),
gave in to the sentiments of the public and the press and issued a
directive withholding the stamps release.
Thwarted once more in his
bid to have the stamps released in the Philippines, Mosden
finally filed a motion against the Bureau of Posts for alleged breach of
contract. No further information to the final outcome of this motion, and
if indeed it was ever heard or settled by the Court of First Instance, has
been found.
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