Manila: A plan by the government to impose stricter rules on packages coming from abroad has met stiff opposition from overseas Filipinos workers (OFW) who said the measure is unnecessary and puts additional burden on them.
Former Ambassador Roy V. Seneres of the OFW Partylist said the plan by the Bureau of Customs to tighten rules for boxed packages from abroad would impact on the legions of OFWs who regard sending packages to the Philippines as a material expression of their affection to their families.
According to the Bureau of Customs (BOC), starting October 1 the agency will be implementing tighter rules on parcels, commonly referred to as “Balikbayan boxes” by Filipinos.
Customs Deputy Commissioner for Assessment and Operations lawyer Agaton Uvero earlier said some unscrupulous shippers had been abusing the Balikbayan box or consolidated box shipments to avoid paying proper taxes, especially on highly dutiable goods such as watches, jewellery and designer bags.
The system of sending Balikbayan boxes started in the 1980s after customs adapted it as part of a system to ship irregularly shaped packages.
Seneres said Balikbayan boxes should not be charged because “are duty- and tax-free packages designed for OFWs for sending their gifts to their families.
“Clearly, it is not our OFWs who smuggle goods through these balikbayan boxes. They are the ones who work hard overseas to be able to send the fruits of their labour to their family in the Philippines through these balikbayan boxes,’’ he said.
Instead of targeting Balikbayan boxes, Seneres said Customs Commissioner Alberto Lina should set his sights on big-time smugglers who slip highly dutiable items such as cars and electronics into the country.
Petition in progress
In anticipation of the tightened customs rules governing Balikbayan boxes, a group of Filipinos started a signature campaign on the online polling site Change.org.
The petition, aimed at gathering 75,000 signatures, would to be presented by Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago before the Senate to justify the removal of the tight rules on Balikbayan boxes.
Since the drive started two days ago, it has garnered a large number of petitioners; as of 5pm Sunday, it had a little more than 7,000 names to go to meet it’s goal.
For his part, Vice-President Jejomar Binay said the government should not pass on to OFWs its failure to curb smuggling by imposing an additional burden on them.
“The worsening smuggling should not be blamed on OFWs and the Balikbayan boxes since only a small amount of items can be smuggled this way. What [the] government should be doing is addressing practice[s] by corrupt businessmen to smuggle tonnes of taxable commodities such as rice, garlic, meat, fruits and vegetables,” he said.
For its part, the BOC said it is not targeting OFWs with the measure.
“We are not after the OFWs or their pasalubong [gift] to families. We are after the smugglers who have resorted to using the balikbayan boxes and consolidated shipments to smuggle contraband in the country through fake consignees or insertion of smuggled boxes or goods, otherwise known as riders, in consolidated shipments,” it said.
Likewise, it clarified that the BOC is not increasing taxes on the balikbayan boxes.
“No such statement on tax increase has been made,” it said.
“Existing rules on the balikbayan boxes still apply, including inspection as stipulated in the law. However, as mentioned before, the bureau is not technologically equipped to inspect all incoming boxes as efficiently as we want. Alternatively, spot checks has been and will continue to be conducted,” it said.
