BOC files raps vs cargo firm  over 40,000 ‘abandoned’ packages

The Bureau of Customs (BOC) on Friday filed a complaint against a Cavite-based cargo company for abandoning in various ports nearly 40,000 “balikbayan” boxes that cost the government more than P30 million in unpaid taxes and duties.

Led by Commissioner Ariel Nepomuceno, the BOC submitted to the Department of Justice (DOJ) a complaint against the officers and employees of Makati Express Cargo Inc. (Meci) over the boxes left unclaimed and unpaid for at the Manila International Container Port, Port of Cebu and Port of Davao from 2024 to 2025.

READ: BOC distributes abandoned  ‘balikbayan’ boxes to OFWs

Meci, a freight forwarder with offices around the country and abroad, is cited for violations of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act.

The BOC’s legal action followed the revocation of the company’s registration in January and the final show-cause order the bureau issued in October last year over the shipments’ unpaid taxes.

Despite a series of penalties, Meci failed to distribute the shipments within the prescribed period. This prompted several recipients to seek assistance from the BOC over the undelivered balikbayan boxes meant for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and their families.

The complaint involves 36,826 balikbayan boxes inside 147 shipping containers abandoned by Meci at ports in Manila, the Visayas and Mindanao. The number represents about 88 percent of 42,063 balikbayan boxes that were not processed and released for the period.

More raps

Earlier, Nepomuceno said many abandoned boxes came from consolidators abroad and “deconsolidators,” or last-mile logistics service providers in the Philippines who failed to settle shipping charges, customs fees, and government dues.

Some of the packages, the BOC chief said, had been unclaimed for as long as three years.

“That’s why we went after them first. The [Meci’s] officials have to be liable for this,” the BOC chief said at a press conference at the DOJ. “They outright left and did not pay [the duties and taxes] even after charging their clients.”

Based on Nepomuceno’s estimates, the unpaid taxes and dues reached over P30 million.

“This is the [government revenue] if only they fulfilled their obligation … But this is what they swindled,” the official added.

The BOC is also looking at filing other criminal charges, such as large-scale estafa and cybercrime law violations, against Meci with the help of National Bureau of Investigation.

Eight more cargo companies found to have been remiss in their obligations are facing charges, Nepomuceno added.

Still waiting

Leandro Eriarte, an OFW from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, was among those whose packages never reached their families in the Philippines.

“I’ve been waiting for my package for nine months now, and it’s really frustrating because we have no idea where it went,” Eriarte said in the briefing.

That box he was missing not only contained food or clothes but “six years’ worth of sacrifice and hard work.”

In December 2025, the BOC began forwarding the abandoned balikbayan boxes to the concerned families, Some port fees and related charges were waived, while delivery or forwarding costs were shouldered by the Office of the President.

According to its website, Meci was founded in 1980 and had since become one of the leading Filipino cargo forwarding companies that operate in different countries, including Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, India, the United Kingdom, the United States and those in the Middle East.

The company’s main office is located in General Trias, Cavite, with branches in Quezon City and Parañaque City in Metro Manila; and the provinces of Isabela, Nueva Ecija, Camarines Sur, Palawan, Cebu, Negros Occidental, Iloilo, Leyte, Davao, Misamis Oriental, Misamis Occidental, Zamboanga del Sur, Basilan and Sulu. —WITH A REPORT FROM INQUIRER RESEARCH