#bureauofcustoms

Okay, this might be a little of a delayed post on the latest brouhahaha with the Customs but I wont’t let it pass without giving my two cents worth.

The issue trended like crazy for the past weeks as the new Bureau of Customs Commissioner Lina (in his I assume all-knowing, stellar experience) declared that balikbayan boxes must be inspected too and maybe subjected to customs tax.

So what’s in a box? As one of those Filipinos who has relatives working/living outside The Philippines (well I guess anyone who knows anyone has a relative outside the country right?), we have this regular ration of things, food, anything imported coming from US, Canada, UK, Saudi, Dubai, Australia or from any other country where we have our relatives. Although, we can say that the Western has landed on the Manila shore and some of these things are already available in some convenience store but some balikbayan boxes are for the provinces where the things that is being contained there are still foreign to the recipients. Balikbayan boxes are sent by our hardworking relatives in an interval which sometimes comprises of a simple canned goods, to shoes, to shirts and other stuff that bunso, nanay, lola, or ate have requested a few months ago.

So imagine my shock again when this Lina suggested that these boxes be inspected and taxed (perhaps of his large experience in freight forwarding???). A box that sometimes would not even cost as much as millions of pesos. A box of goodies to support relatives and make these relatives feel that they are loved. A box from those people this country considers as modern day heroes because of their remittances. A box that no matter how they combine the annual shipments will not equal to those illegal shipments, unseized harmful goods coming in the market and just goes through BOC’s nose! So why am I disgusted with this?

Again I ask. What’s in the box? It’s not about those canned goods, soaps, shoes, toiletries. It’s the sweat and pain of thousand of OFWs working thousand of miles away just to provide for their families back in this country. It’s the longing of a Father to hold her daughter in a bottle of perfume and just simply to let her know he never forgot her debut. It’s a mother’s care in the shirts that she is sending home to her twins who are just growing up to be good basketball players, a good pair of shoes to follow when nanay gets another part time job to buy the shoes. It’s a son’s care and appreciation of his parents in every bottle of vitamin and supplements. AND THAT I SUBMIT TO YOU CANNOT AND WILL NEVER BE TAXED! Bureau of Customs, seriously! Open your eyes!

BOC says that these boxes are used as a mode for smuggling. Yes the risk is high but what is putting a security check through a technology and not through human intervention and please leave these boxes alone from taxation. Run after those smugglers. Run after your people who still get paid in the line just to undervalue huge shipments and not those balkibayan boxes. While I have always supported measures of the government to earn but haven’t we have earned enough from our OFWs?

karamihan sa OFW nagpapakatulong na sa ibang bansa pero ano kapalit at  ginagawa ng mga hinayupak na gov't officials at pulitiko dito sa Pilipinas. Ninanakawan pa. ,/,,,

sila ang best example ng mga taong walang utang na loob. pinapasahod/pinapalamon mo na nga buong pamilya (via tax) nanakawan ka pa.