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The final wave of free distribution of abandoned balikbayan boxes commenced this week, with the initial batch released on February 18
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This second wave consists of 72 containers with 24,536 balikbayan boxes
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The first wave that started in December last year involved 68 containers with 20,944 boxes
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Finance secretary Frederick Go and Customs commissioner Ariel Nepomuceno led the distribution to owners who came to the Port of Manila to pick up their long-delayed goods
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The remaining boxes were sent out for door-to-door delivery
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Government is assisting victims in filing charges against the erring freight forwarders
The final wave of free distribution of abandoned balikbayan boxes commenced this week, with the initial batch released on February 18 directly to owners at the Port of Manila or loaded into trucks for delivery.
The first wave, which began last December 18, covered 68 containers that were released from customs ports and transferred to logistics partners’ warehouses. These containers contained 20,944 balikbayan boxes, of which 14,305 boxes have already been successfully delivered door-to-door to their rightful overseas Filipino worker (OFW) consignees, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) said in a statement.
The second and final wave consists of 72 containers estimated to contain 24,536 balikbayan boxes. Of these, 14 containers have already been released from the Manila International Container Port, while 58 containers remain under processing pending the completion of clearances and the waiver of port charges.
In parallel with the distribution efforts, the Department of Finance and the BOC are strengthening preventive and legal mechanisms, including assisting affected OFWs in filing criminal complaints against erring freight forwarders to ensure accountability and deter future violations.
READ: DAPI asks for due process on balikbayan box abandonment cases
Finance secretary Frederick Go and Customs commissioner Ariel Nepomuceno led the distribution on site to Filipino overseas workers (OFWs) and their families who have for months or even years been waiting to get their goods.
“We heard your pleas, and the President (Ferdinand Marcos Jr.) has approved the door-to-door delivery of all your boxes,” Go said at the event as quoted in a separate press release.
Nepomuceno acknowledged and thanked Go for his support to the free distribution program.
The backlog stemmed largely from foreign-based freight consolidators that enticed OFWs with unusually low shipping rates and promises of quick door-to-door delivery.
While payments were collected abroad and shipments consolidated in bulk, some operators failed to complete customs processing or settle shipping line, port, storage, and handling charges upon arrival in the Philippines.
As a result, the shipments were left unpaid and unprocessed, and were eventually declared abandoned at customs despite OFWs having paid in full.
Go called on OFWs and their families to transact only with accredited and reputable freight forwarders.
“We must ensure this does not happen again. When a freight forwarder or consolidator offers a deal that seems too good to be true, that is a red flag. Let us exercise caution,” he said.
