Hands-off balikbayan boxes

REPORTS of pilfered balikbayan boxes sent through door-to-door are legion. This is because opening the poor man’s Louis Vuitton, without the presence of the owner, is simply an opportunity to take whatever some Bureau of Customs personnel fancy.

Migrant workers have taken this insult for so long because to complain would be fruitless. The OFW have no time or inclination, and just charge the loss to experience.

To rub salt on the wound, here comes this mindless idea of subjecting the boxes to random inspection.

The BoC said it will not impose additional taxes and will only conduct random inspections on balikbayan boxes.

It maintained that the stringent rules will be implemented in order to deter smugglers from sending contraband into the country through balikbayan boxes.

Maybe, the BOC did not explain itself clear. Many cases of smuggling may be, carried out through balikbayan boxes, but the investigation should focus on freight forwarders or consolidators.

These big companies, some of which are illegally operated, have been accused not only of pilfering the boxes’ contents, but outright non-delivery of the goods to recipients.

It is also common knowledge that some freight forwarders, knowing that balikbayan boxes are loosely examined and exempted from taxes, have used this loophole to engage in smuggling. They reportedly use the same balikbayan boxes themselves to send contraband into the country.

When hundreds of balikbayan boxes are “consolidated” or combined and crammed in a cargo container, these are sent through cargo ships for delivery to their intended destination.

It is at the Manila ports, when clearing these cargo containers that things get interesting.

Knowing that it is physically impossible to examine every box, the containers are usually cleared through the BOC en masse, meaning the forwarders and the customs personnel agree in advance how much each cargo container would cost to get cleared, sans inspection.

The going rate is from 250,000 to P300,000 per container.

It was a major faux pas to say that the OFW’s balikbayan boxes would be inspected.

There would be inspection of boxes, but without specifically targeting the OFWs.