After a protest last month by Filipino domestic workers in Hong Kong, the Philippines government has clarified the process for the inspection of balikbayan boxes.
Maids living in Hong Kong feared that the boxes – by which they send gifts to their families in the Philippines when their small wages allow it – would be subject to mandatory physical inspections, possibly leaving their goods vulnerable to pilfering, under new rules.
Writing in an email to Coconuts HK, however, the Commissioner of Customs for the Philippines acknowledged that “the balikbayan box as an integral part of the family relationship to nurture loved ones at home and as a tangible sign of their love and concern for their family members”.
He stressed, however, that some “unscrupulous individuals” use the boxes to break the law.
“For example, gun parts, ammunition and gun accessories were found in seven balikbayan boxes, 81,529 tablets of anti-anxiety drugs were mis-declared as food supplements in November 2014, 413 Casio G-Shock watches, and even a custom Harley Davidson Chopper motorcycle of a Hollywood scriptwriter in 2011, among other high-end car parts, were also delivered through balikbayan boxes.”
We can’t be sure, but we don’t reckon there are too many Choppers being shipped home by Hong Kong’s 154,000 Filipino domestic helpers, who earn a minimum wage of HKD4,110 a month.
Rather than rummaging through the boxes and taking whatever they like, as Hong Kong’s helpers feared, immigration officials will only be permitted to inspect boxes manually if suspicious images show up in the now-mandatory x-ray and k-9 examinations, the release states.
Even then, an Overseas Workers Welfare Administration representative or a designated officer of an OFW Association should be present, and the search should be conducted under CCTV monitoring.
“Employees who violate these protocols and engage in pilferage will be prosecuted and punished,” the officers of the commissioner wrote.
The public is also urged to submit video and photo evidence of any lawbreaking they witness.
According to official figures, the Philippines receives an estimated 1,500 containers of balikbayan boxes a month, translating to 18,000 containers and 7.2 million individual boxes a year.
Photo: Coconuts Media
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