Selling of balikbayan boxes online part of deal between sender, firm —BOC By JOAHNA LEI CASILAO, GMA Integrated News

The reported selling of balikbayan boxes online is covered by a service agreement involving the sender, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) said Friday, citing initial results of its investigation. "'Yun pong mismong pinapakita ay kahon mula sa kumpanya… ito po ay binenta sa ilalim po ng service agreement ng mga senders. Ito po kasi ay parang promo. Sa initial report po, lumilitaw po na ito ay promo na ship now, pay later," BOC acting deputy commissioner Michael Fermin said in an interview on Unang Balita. (The boxes showed were from a company… these were sold under a service agreement with the senders. There was a promo. Based on the initial report, it showed that the promo is a ship now, pay later.) "So ibig sabihin, nagbabayad lang po sila ng downpayment abroad at pagdating po dito, kailangan nilang bayaran 'yung balanse upon delivery po," he added. (This means that they will pay a downpayment abroad and the remaining balance must be paid upon delivery.) As per the agreement, Fermin said if senders could not pay the cost of shipment and mobilization within two months, they would allow the company to liquidate the balikbayan boxes. The BOC launched its investigation after a viral video on social media showed a content creator saying he bought a care package for P5,000. Fermin said that the balikbayan boxes are no longer under the agency's jurisdiction as they have been already brought out of BOC warehouses. He said they may instead subpoena the company and other individuals. "What we can do is to subpoena 'yung mga kumpanya atsaka yung taong nagsiwalat na ito to see na baka may mga boxes doon na hindi po established 'yung ownership ng kumpanya para ibenta nila o i-dispose," he said. (What we can do is we can subpoena the company and the individual who revealed this and see if there were boxes there that did not have an established ownership.) According to the deputy commissioner, individuals who are found to be selling balikbayan boxes that do not belong to them may be charged with estafa. Scammers Fermin also again denied claims that overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) with missing balikbayan boxes must pay P18,000 to P20,000 to locate their parcels. “Nananawagan po kami na wag po silang bastang maniwala. Nagkalat po ang mga scam, nagpapakilala na empleyado ng BOC at kailangan magbayad. Kailanman po, hindi po mag sisingil ang BOC, lalo na po over the phone,” he said. (We call on the public to refrain from immediately believing such things. Scams are everywhere and some individuals will pose as BOC employees and tell you that you have to pay. BOC has never asked for payment, especially over the phone.) He said transactions involving the bureau are made through banks and not through employees. The deputy commissioner also called on victims of such incidents to coordinate with the BOC for investigation through the bureau's hotline number of 8705-6000 or email them at boc.cares@customs.gov.ph. "And we'll make sure na kapag ho merong sangkot na mga empleyado ng BOC na gumagawa po nito ay they will be dealt with accordingly. Magfa-file po talaga kami ng kaso para hindi lang po administratively, but criminally ma-charge din po sila at maaring mag-resulta ng pagkatanggal nila sa serbisyo," Fermin said. (We’ll make sure that if there are BOC employees involved in such incidents, they will be dealt with accordingly. We will file not only an administrative case but also a criminal case so they will be removed from service.) —KBK, GMA Integrated News