For overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and their families, balikbayan boxes do not only represent the rewards of toiling hard in another country but also our migrant workers’ love and devotion for their families back home.
Despite this, reports of mishandled, damaged, and undelivered balikbayan boxes make it to headlines, much to the dismay of the recipients in the Philippines.
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)’s Fair Trade Enforcement Bureau received 78 complaints regarding balikbayan boxes from January to June of this year, GMA News reported
Of the 78, 68 did not reach their intended recipients while six were delayed and three were mishandled.
“Ang foreign freight forwarders na pinagpapadalhan po ng ating mga kababayan sa abroad kinakailangan pong merong ditong local foreign agents or local foreign freight forwarders,” the report quoted DTI-FTEB officer-in-charge Ferdinand Manfoste as saying.
As the “ber-months” start, balikbayan boxes start piling up from OFWs for the Christmas season. Because of this, OFWs are urged to use certified deconsolidators which they could trust to deliver their balikbayan boxes safely to their loved ones.
Source: GMA News
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