‘We just want our families to be happy’: Filipinos in Dubai face losses as balikbayan boxes remain undelivered

Dubai: For overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), a balikbayan box is more than a package. It is often a collection of carefully chosen gifts, household essentials, and items bought with months of hard-earned savings for families back home.

For some Filipinos in Dubai, however, boxes sent through Makati Express Cargo have remained undelivered, leaving families waiting and senders facing financial losses and uncertainty.

The situation comes despite a warning issued in February by the Philippine Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), in coordination with the National Bureau of Investigation, advising OFWs and their families not to transact with Makati Express Cargo or its partners and affiliates abroad.

“This is to protect their welfare and prevent any illegal operations related to their balikbayan boxes sent to their families in the Philippines,” stated the DMW.

‘I don’t have a choice’

Rosalie Aquino Peralta, a sales assistant in Dubai, has sent her balikbayan box in February. She was later contacted by Makati Express Cargo saying that the cargo has been held at a port because of the regional situation. 

Afterwards, she has been asked to pay an additional Dh290 for the box to be rerouted via Oman.

“I don’t have a choice because if I don’t pay the additional payment it will not be sent,” Peralta told Gulf News.

The box has been important to her family because it contains adult diapers and milk for her 91-year-old mother.

“She is excited for her stuff but until now, it is not yet received.”

Still, Peralta has expressed hope that the box will eventually reach her family.

“I am still hoping that my family will receive my box because I spent a lot of money to fill it. As an OFW, it’s very hard to earn money.”

Carefully chosen gifts

Similarly, Tina, a sales executive in Dubai, has bared that she sent two boxes through the company. Both boxes have been collected in May for shipping.

Her boxes have contained items bought with care despite financial constraints, including gifts for her mother, nieces, sisters, and brothers-in-law. The contents have included shoes, bags, clothes, accessories, cotton sheets, and shawls for her mother, as well as toys and small kitchen appliances.

Some of the items have been intended to help set up a small home-based business, including a mini doughnut maker, ice cream maker, electric griller, and heavy-duty blender.

The boxes have also contained pressure cookers, tripods, camera stands, lamps, lighting, and other household and kitchen items.

“The anticipation and joy of them receiving and opening a balikbayan box, digging into the box, looking for the items, and what it meant for each person, is all worth it and something that sending money cannot equate with,” exclaimed Tina.

‘Nobody was taking calls’

Tina has begun following up on her shipments through WhatsApp from August. However, the company's main WhatsApp account has went offline from September, while calls and messages were no longer being answered.

“Nobody was taking calls, from both their main mobile numbers or from the guy who has come to pick up my boxes,” shared Tina.

She has then asked her sister in the Philippines to follow up with the company’s branch in Cavite. The Philippine branch was still answering calls at that time, but the company’s numbers have later stopped working as well.

Messages that have been sent through Facebook were also no longer being read. Tina’s sister has subsequently contacted the Philippine Bureau of Customs (BOC) and was told that shipments were on hold due to pending cases.

“I tried reaching their Sharjah branch where I had some boxes sent last year. Their landline number just keeps on ringing. Nobody is picking up the phone. The same is true with their Ras Al Khaimah branch.”

Missing the Christmas window

The prolonged delay has affected Tina’s plans for the final months of the year.

“My plans and schedules are all disturbed now thanks to this delay,” stated Tina.

She has feared of missing the final-quarter period for Christmas and New Year, when families would normally expect to receive the boxes.

“Everybody is expecting the box to be delivered on time. Well, I guess we’ll all have to wait.”

Tina has also been concerned about items in the boxes that were intended to support her family's future livelihood.

“I won’t be able to buy those items now as those were on sale when I bought them. I can't do much for now but I hope that my boxes will be delivered home before the month of October ends.”

Check freight services

Earlier, the DMW has urged OFWs and their families to exercise extra vigilance when choosing freight services. It has also encouraged both the senders and receipients to regularly check the status of freight forwarders with the BOC.

Verifying whether a consolidator is registered and compliant with regulations can help minimise the risk of undelivered packages and other irregularities.

For Peralta and Tina, however, the immediate concern is whether the boxes they packed with care and paid to send will finally reach their families.

As Peralta puts it, “We just want to give something to our family because if they are happy, we are happy too.”