Bureau Of Customs May Open Your Balikbayan Box And Tax You!

In an official statement issued by the Bureau of Customs (BOC) regarding its endeavor to combat smuggling, it declared that random inspection of balikbayan boxes shall be implemented so as to check undeclared taxable items. This sparked an outrage among Filipino Netizens clamoring for an overhaul of the BOC administration. The collective outcry of netizens calls for BOC to shut down large-scale smuggling instead of nitpicking on OFWs. Also, an argument raised by netizens is the susceptibility of a balikbayan box to theft once it has been opened. There are reports of lost items from a number of these boxes which irked many of the intended recipients. Far worse, there are instances where the boxes never arrived. Allegations of insider theft in BOC has tarnished the institution’s integrity resulting in diminishing public trust. CNN Philippines cited a survey conducted by the Social Weather Station (SWS) in 2013 wherein BOC topped the list of most corrupt agencies in the Philippines. Former Customs Commissioner Rozzano Rufino “Ruffy” Biazon offered his resignation after President Aquino’s 4th State of the Nation Address (SONA) wherein His Excellency shamed and berated the bureau for its corrupt ways. A day after the SONA, Biazon hinted that the only way to rid BOC of its graft-prone reputation is to abolish the system as a whole. His resignation in 2013 was allegedly due to his implication in the PDAF scam. Plagued by shenanigans and illicit transactions, corruption in BOC is nowhere near its end. Filipino Netizens are already expressing their dismay towards the failure to reform the said agency. The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) slammed BOC for its decision to open balikbayan boxes as this impedes on the consumers right to secure their ownership over the contents of these boxes. Instead, CBCP encourages BOC to use scanning equipments to detect smuggled items. The woeful plight of having to leave one’s family and be an Overseas Filipino Workers is a reality that our government must attempt to relieve. It can only be achieved through rightfully servicing their needs. Ironically, BOC has consistently failed to do so. Rather, it has inculcated amongst OFWs a nagging feeling that the hard-earned contents of their balikbayan boxes are not in good hands.