BOC distributes ‘abandoned’ balikayan boxes to 68 claimants

The Bureau of Customs (BOC) on Saturday said it has distributed 87 “abandoned” balikbayan boxes at a warehouse in Sta. Ana, Manila to their intended claimants.

In a statement, the BOC said the balikbayan boxes were sent by overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Canada, Europe, and the Middle East, but were abandoned by alleged unscrupulous forwarding companies.

The distribution of the balikbayan boxes took place on October 26, 2023.

The Customs said OFWs who paid fees to overseas forwarders for shipping their balikbayan boxes to their families, “with local forwarders left uncompensated.”

“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 said.

“Unscrupulous forwarders abroad took advantage of OFWs by offering lower shipping fees for balikbayan boxes, enticing them to use their services, but without a counterpart local deconsolidator that will facilitate the clearance and delivery thereof to intended beneficiaries,” it added.

The BOC is strongly urging 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. —VAL, GMA Integrated News