Recto wants to end red tape in balikbayan boxes shipment

Senator Ralph Recto. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

Senate President Pro-Tempore Ralph Recto on Monday called for the immediate “activation and convening” of the congressional oversight committee to streamline the guidelines for overseas Filipino workers’ (OFWs) shipment of balikbayan boxes to their relatives and loved ones.

Recto said the present guidelines of the Bureau of Custom’s (BOC) implementation on balikbayan boxes remain vulnerable to pilferage and theft by corrupt Customs personnel.

“We should review it because of the complicated requirements, balikbayan boxes will be wrapped in red tape,” Recto said in a statement.

Recto issued the call after newly released rules by the BOC on how an overseas Filipino can send home a balikbayan box include a requirement to paste on the box a detailed list of contents, and put inside the purchase receipts of brand-new goods.

The congressional customs and tariff oversight committee, he said, was not only mandated to monitor the implementation of the law but it was also “the right group to probe if the rules are indeed unreasonable.”

Recto said he shares the apprehension of many OFWs that attaching a list of contents was “tantamount to providing a keyhole that might tempt unscrupulous handlers to open it and rid it of its contents.”

“Ang pangamba nga ng isang OFWs (overseas Filipino workers), kapag nilista, baka maramaing matukso kasi parang sinulat mo na rin na ‘take me I’m yours’,” he said.

“Dito sa Pilipinas, you can trust almost all of the forwarders to treat the box carefully because they have a business and reputation to protect. Pero kung paano in transit at wala pa sa jurisdiction ng Pilipinas?” the senator added.

While recognizing BoC’s mandate to ensure the tax-free balikbayan boxes are not abused by smugglers, Recto said the rules must not bring inconvenience to millions of OFWs.

Recto said the convening of the oversight committee was also made urgent by the crisis in Marawi.

“So that when governments and citizens of predominantly Muslim nations will send aid to Marawi, either by barges or by boxes, the rules are already in place,” he said.

The senator said clearance of relief consignment should be a matter of priority and subject to a simplified customs procedure.

“These shipments must be cleared beyond the designated office and shall be waived of corresponding charges. The examinations of goods are allowed only in exceptional circumstances,” he said. JPV