Obnoxious clampdown on Balikbayan boxes

Whoever thought of tightening the rules on the entry of Balikbayan boxes into the country ought to be exposed and perhaps publicly shamed for coming up with a hare-brained idea.

      

The basic concept behind Balikbayan boxes, after all, is to allow Filipinos living or working abroad to send home to their families small gifts, such as garments and bags, canned food items, or personal effects, free of duties and taxes.

      

The Balikbayan boxes were also intended to show the government's gratitude to OFWs and overseas Filipinos who really work hard for every dollar they earn abroad and are helping keep the Philippine economy afloat amid turbulent times with their remittances.

      

But with the proposed tightening of the rules on Balikbayan boxes, overseas Filipinos would now think twice about sending small presents to their loved ones back home.

      

Imposing duties and taxes on the contents of Balikbayan boxes is sheer ingratitude on the part of government amid the sacrifices and the trials and tribulations of our compatriots in foreign shores.

      

From where we sit, the restrictions should apply only to those who clearly abuse the privilege to bring in dozens of Balikbayan boxes filled with highly-dutiable goods.

      

The government should run after the big-time smugglers—those, for instance,  who load multimilllion-peso luxury cars like Ferraris and Lamborghinis in 20-foot containers and declare them as auto spare parts to avoid taxes.

      

Or the other big-time smugglers of onions, garlic, chicken and other food items in commercial quantities that end up in supermarkets also without paying the proper taxes. 

      

The focus on Balikbayan boxes appears to be a diversionary tactic amid the government's failure to curb large-scale smuggling which is tantamount to economic sabotage.

      

Clamping down on Balikbayan boxes brought in by hard-working OFWs and legitimate travellers while looking the other way as big-time smugglers bring in luxury goods worth millions without paying the right duties and taxes is obnoxious, to say the least. –End-

Image by: planetphilippines.com