VERY LATE COMMERCIAL COVER
OF THE JAPANESE OCCUPATION PERIOD


GARRETT UNRECORDED POSTMARK

ON FEBRUARY 5, 1945 MANILA WAS BEING LIBERATED
BY THE AMERICANS BUT IN THE NORTH MAIL WAS STILL
ACCEPTED FOR DELIVERY

A MAJOR JAPANESE OCCUPATION
POSTAL HISTORY PIECE
UTMOST SUPERIOR EXHIBIT QUALITY

8.30.2006

 1945 FEBRUARY 3:
MABALACAT, PAMPANGA to CAMILING, TARLAC
5c PSE with single ring MABALACAT, PAMPANGA, PHILIPPINES / REC'D postmark, handstamped
with FEB 3 194 date with the "5" in manuscript.

IS THIS COVER
JAPANESE OCCUPATION
OR LIBERATION PERIOD?

Before you make your choice consider
the following historical facts: 
- On January 9, 1945, the invasion of Lingayen
had begun.
 - On January 29, the railroad from Lingayen
to Tarlac was opened Camiling is north
of Tarlac.
 - Clark Air base was liberated on January 31. (Mabalacat is near Clark)
 - On February 3rd. the military units from the Lingayen units had entered Manila.

As to its philatelic facts:
The cover has no marking to indicate that it is a "liberated" mail and if this was mailed at the time the Americans were in control of the area (Mabalacat) and possibily of the post office, then the 5c Provisional Postal Envelope should not have been accepted for mailing.

With the above, one can declare that the cover is of the Liberation period. However, one can also argue that since the cover has no marking to indicate that it is a "liberated" mail like the June 27, 1944 Cebu to Maasin cover it still can be considered as belonging to the Japanese Occupation period. 

If this cover were to be included in a Japanese Occupation postal history exhibit I strongly believe that it will gain more merit if described as a very late period piece rather than a "liberated" piece, with emphasis on the description that the postal service still functioned to the last days of Japanese Occupation period.

Like the song, this cover is like being
"TORN BETWEEN TWO LOVERS"