Manila: The Bureau of Customs (BOC) has partnered with a group of private forwarders to ensure the delivery of abandoned "balikbayan" boxes to the families of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) across the Philippines.

According to Philippines News Agency, BOC Assistant Commissioner Vincent Philip Maronilla announced on Friday that the BOC has coordinated with the Door-to-Door Consolidators Association of the Philippines (DDCAP) to facilitate the delivery of approximately 2,900 boxes. These boxes were recently transferred to the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) for distribution to the families of OFWs. Maronilla explained during an interview on Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon that the aim is to provide a direct link to DMW so that families in remote areas will not need to travel to DMW warehouses, as DDCAP will handle the delivery.

In addition to arranging logistics, Maronilla, who also serves as the BOC spokesperson, stated that the BOC has waived all charges associated with the boxes to avoid any additional financial burden on the recipients. "We inspected the balikbayan boxes and found a way to waive the charges. We created a scheme to avoid additional burden on our OFWs. They initially paid for it, and they do not need to pay more charges again caused by those who defrauded them," he said.

Maronilla further mentioned that legal actions have been initiated against the forwarding companies responsible for the abandonment of the boxes. The BOC is also collaborating with lawmakers to draft legislation aimed at penalizing such actions. "We are working with Congress under the leadership of the chairman of the Committee on Overseas Worker, Rep. Jude Asidre, and OFW party-list Rep. Marissa del Mar, in crafting a law that is more stringent with strong penalties to hold accountable those who are taking advantage of our OFWs," he added.

On Thursday, the BOC, via the Port of Davao, officially handed over 2,954 abandoned "balikbayan" boxes to the DMW. These boxes, originally sent by OFWs to their families in the Philippines, were unclaimed due to mishandling and abandonment by irresponsible freight forwarders. Commissioner Bienvenido Rubio noted that the boxes were declared forfeited by the BOC, with approval from the Department of Finance, and were officially donated to the DMW through a signed Deed of Donation.