Sunday Philatelist

The turning point in my philatelic education was the newspaper column Sunday Philatelist by Mandy Labayen, published in the now defunct Philippine Sunday Express, the Sunday edition of Philippine Daily Express.

Because of Sunday Philatelist, I began to learn about stamp collecting, which eventually opened wide the world of philatelic knowledge to me.

If I recall correctly, this column lasted from November 1980 to late 1982 (or was it early 1983?) before the paper ceased publication. I saved the clippings (probably complete as my family used to subscribe to this newspaper) but I had to leave these to the Davao Stamp Collectors when I moved out of Davao City in 1985. (Except for four clippings which I have kept all through these years.)

And if I recall rightly, too, Mandy Labayen would later write a stamp column for Manila Times in the mid-1980s  titled The Stamp Album. He died in 2006 at the age of 65.

Also writing for the Manila Times was the late Frank Luto; his column was called The Philatelist, which he continued for The Philippine Star.