A PHILIPPINE Senator on Thursday called on government agencies to implement a special lane for balikbayan boxes sent by overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), amid reported delays.
“Can we do that? Is that possible to have a special lane for balikbayan boxes from OFWs,” Senator Rafael T. Tulfo said during a Senate committee hearing in mixed Filipino and English.
Mr. Tulfo called on the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), the Bureau of Customs (BoC), and the Department of Trade and Industry to “come up with a system” to hasten the deliveries of boxes sent by migrant workers to the Philippines.
He added that some OFWs have reported that their boxes have remained stalled for months in local warehouses.
In response, DMW Undersecretary Bernard P. Olalia said foreign consolidators, which ship balikbayan boxes to the Philippines, do not pay the necessary fees required by the BoC for cargo to be released.
“The problem is that there are many scammers who are foreign freight forwarders. These scammers will accept balikbayan boxes. But they will not pay the fines or whatever fees that our BoC charges. If the fees are not paid, they will not be delivered,” Mr. Olalia added.
He said that there is a need to implement an accreditation process for foreign consolidators to ship out the cargo of OFWs to the Philippines as some boxes. — Adrian H. Halili
