MANILA: To recognize the significant contribution of overseas Filipino workers to the national economy, the Philippines should adopt a permanent “no opening” policy on balikbayan boxes, Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III has said.
On an average, loved ones and relatives of OFWs receive some 400,000 balikbayan boxes every month, Visayan Daily Star quoted Pimentel’s office as saying.
The balikbayan box “represents the love and care of OFWs for their families,” Pimentel reportedly said after filing recently Senate Bill No. 1168, to institutionalize the “expanded balikbayan program,” amending for the purpose Republic Act No. 6768, as amended by RA 9174, and for other purposes.
He reportedly called the proposed legislation “a small measure of assistance in view of the tireless efforts of our OFWs, who work selflessly abroad and endure long separation and loneliness from their loved ones.”
Balikbayan boxes would only be subjected to non-intrusive methods of inspection by the Bureau of Customs, using trained canine units, x-ray and inspection systems or other similar technologies, he addded.
There are only two instances when BOC personnel could open the boxes, he said in his bill. One, when the consignor’s export declaration and packing list are not attached, and another, when alerts are issued by authorities alleging banned, prohibited or regulated items, Pimentel’s office reportedly said.
When approved, the law would also exempt from taxes and duties one balikbayan box for every OFW per month regardless, Pimentel said, of the “total dutiable value of its contents,” the report pointed out.
He reportedly said the Senate must make certain that “our prevailing legislation would help augment not only the lives of our OFWs, but also of their families who are left behind.”
Personal remittances by OFWs in March this year reached $2.7 billion, higher by 4.3 percent compared to the first quarter last year, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas records show, reported Visayan Daily Star.
Government records reportedly showed that around 2.377 million OFWs were deployed abroad last year.
“We cannot thus take for granted the crucial role played by our OFWs in helping sustain the continuous development of our economy through the foreign currencies remitted to their families,” he was quoted as saying.
The Philippine Constitution affirms labor as a primary social economic concern, guaranteeing the protection of the rights of workers and the promotion of their welfare, Pimentel reportedly said.
