BOC vows abandoned 'Balikbayan' boxes will be distributed immediately

MANILA — The Bureau of Customs (BOC) has vowed to immediately distribute abandoned "Balikbayan" boxes, and urged overseas Filipinos to be wary of sending these to questionable forwarding firms in their areas.

In a statement, the agency said 87 Balikbayan boxes have so far been distributed as of Thursday.

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Many of these boxes were sent from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Canada, Europe, and the Middle East, based on BOC's release.

"Reports indicate that OFWs paid fees to overseas forwarders for shipping their balikbayan boxes to their families, with local forwarders left uncompensated," said the agency.

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"This resulted in non-declaration and non-payment of duties, taxes, and charges due thereon with BOC, leading to the subsequent abandonment of the boxes," it added.

BOC said the "unscrupulous forwarders" exploited overseas Filipino workers (OFW) through lower shipping fees, but they did not have any counterpart local deconsolidator.

These deconsolidators were supposed to undertake the clearance processes and the Balikbayan boxes' delivery.

"The BOC strongly urges OFWs and the public to be more circumspect and exercise extra caution in selecting forwarding companies for their balikbayan boxes to ensure the reliability and integrity of the services they engage," it said.

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The agency earlier said they have filed 11 criminal complaint regarding the matter. BOC is also crafting a memorandum with several agencies to require the registration of deconsolidators with their agency.

Those who want to claim Balikbayan boxes may email boc.cares@customs.gov.ph.

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