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A total of 1,996 unpaid and abandoned balikbayan boxes shipped by CMG International Movers and Cargo Services, Kabayan Island Express Cargo, and All Win Balikbayan Cargo have been distributed by the Bureau of Customs (BOC) from July to date
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Of the total, 1,667 were delivered and 329 were picked up by recipients at the designated warehouses
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BOC has proposed the creation of a joint team that will develop a system for the efficient and speedy release and delivery of balikbayan boxes
A total of 1,996 unpaid and abandoned balikbayan boxes shipped by CMG International Movers and Cargo Services, Kabayan Island Express Cargo, and All Win Balikbayan Cargo have been distributed by the Bureau of Customs (BOC) from July to date.
Of the total, 1,667 were delivered and 329 were picked up by recipients at the designated warehouses, BOC spokesperson Arnaldo Dela Torre, Jr. said in a press conference on November 8.
The balikbayan boxes arrived on separate dates in 2021 and this year, and have been left abandoned by the three consolidators.
Dela Torre said the containers with the abandoned boxes underwent public bidding and the winning bidders agreed to deliver the abandoned balikbayan boxes free of charge to the recipients out of good will. Claimants need only to present valid identification and no delivery fees will be collected.
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Of the delivered boxes, 1,450 boxes were consigned to CMG. The remaining 30 boxes are still undelivered due to incomplete information, no confirmation, or no response received from recipients/senders.
BOC also processed 1,154 balikbayan boxes consigned to Kabayan Island Express, of which 329 were picked up by recipients at the Port Net Logistics warehouse in Sta. Ana, Manila.
The remaining 825 boxes were endorsed to the Door-to-Door Consolidators Association of the Philippines (DDCAP) for immediate delivery. To date, 217 boxes have been successfully delivered, 310 are out for delivery, and 210 are for dispatch.
The 16 containers with 4,625 balikbayan boxes consigned to All Win, meanwhile, are currently under the custody of the Association of Bidders at the Bureau of Customs (ABBC) at its Hobart Warehouse in Balagtas, Bulacan. Several boxes were already distributed and picked up by consignees from the Bulacan warehouse.
BOC also intends to deliver the remaining unclaimed packages, particularly those bound for Visayas and Mindanao.
The agency is also extending for another two weeks the claiming of boxes at the Hobart Warehouse as requested by the recipients. The pick-up schedule will be announced once ABBC completes the inventory of the balikbayan boxes on November 9.
BOC in a meeting with ABBC on November 7 proposed the creation of a joint team that will develop a system for the efficient and speedy release and delivery of balikbayan boxes.
BOC also again warned Filipino workers abroad to be vigilant against dubious freight forwarders that continue to victimize overseas Filipino workers. Stakeholders can also check the websites of BOC and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to see the list of accredited seafreight and balikbayan box forwarders.
Dela Torre said BOC is also coordinating with the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) to create a joint legal team for the filing of cases against the three consolidators.
For the long-term, BOC said it is pushing for policies to thwart balikbayan boxes schemes of unscrupulous consolidators abroad.
These measures include, among others, the creation of a Balikbayan Box One-Stop-Shop and the drafting of an inter-agency agreement between the DTI, DMW, and BOC to stop such illicit activities.
BOC also recommended to the Fair Trade Enforcement Bureau, which accredits seafreight forwarders, to review and amend the Philippine Shippers’ Bureau (PSB) Administrative Order (AO) No. 06 series of 2005; reinstitute the accreditation of deconsolidators with BOC; and file appropriate cases against errant freight forwarders.
Issued more than 15 years ago, AO 06-2005 prescribes the revised rules on sea freight forwarding. FTEB last year has conducted public hearings with stakeholders on its proposed new rules on sea freight forwarding but has yet to issue the final order.
