Reactions to ‘Is it really duty free?’

Last week’s column on my personal observations on the main Duty Free Shop in Sucat, Parañaque City drew quite a response from our readers, to my surprise .  I really didn’t expect that much mail from last week’s column and I would like to share some of them here.

From Sonny Juico:

“Nice article, about time someone featured it.  At Cash and Carry, a liter bottle of Johnnie Walker Black costs less than P1,500 and I don’t believe this nonsense that their stock is fresh, a bottle of liquor will hold for years so long as it is not exposed to the sun. I can’t add to your article as you covered everything.”

In last week’s article, I mentioned that this same merchandise (Johnnie Walker Black) costs approximately P1,500 at Duty Free Shop, while it costs about P950 in SM and P856 in S & R. I had no comparative price from Cash & Carry, which I presume should be less than the two stores which supposedly pay duties on their merchandise.

The next one is a rather lengthy reaction from a reader from Zambales. Please take note that she refers to SBMA which has not been a duty free zone for a very long time now. But it is worth reading just the same. 

From Lily Galace:

“I feel compelled to comment about your article re: duty free.

I live in Zambales where large department stores in SMBA carry supposedly duty free goods – many people from Manila go there to shop. They are stocked with chocolates, canned goods, designers’ shirts/bags, household goods, etc. Like you and me, I used to think, why buy overseas when they are right here in my backyard.  My eyes were opened when a friend from the US, who sends several balikbayan boxes regularly, told me that the so-called duty free goods here are very expensive – some as much as two to three times the cost of those in America. The next time I shopped at SBMA, I carefully noted the prices and it seems her comments were true.  The breakfast jams I buy in Australia were quite expensive at SBMA. I carefully noted the price of chocolates that I buy occasionally were indeed expensive compared to the US prices.

Since I found that out, I made a mental note to buy light household goods that I can carry when travelling overseas. People are careful with money. With about 10 million people working overseas and their families, it is more economical to shop in the Philippines. Even a small price difference will not matter as it is a burden to be carrying a lot of luggage from overseas. Unfortunately, the difference is not small.             

Check it out.”

I am intrigued that these stores in SBMA still pass themselves as duty free after all these years, knowing fully well that their duty free status has been revoked by the national government.  I guess this bears watching and studying for another column in the future. But as to the prices, I guess it is the DTI that should look into this.

From Michaela Maglipon:

 “Mr. Gamboa, thank you for opening our eyes to what is really the score with our so-called duty free shop. Whenever my titos and titas come home, which is every year, they bring us to the big duty free shop in Parañaque because it saves them the trouble of bringing so much baggage from the US. It is mostly chocolates, toys for the smaller ones, and perfume or cologne for the nieces. I was surprised at the price difference of liquor, and I know that their chocolates and bags of nuts are very expensive compared to the US because even my titas comment on it.  But in fairness to them, their perfumes are cheaper than, for example Rustans.  But these same perfumes are a little cheaper in the small PX stores in Greenhills. Thank you for the eye opener.  My titos are surprised that this is the situation here.”

I agree that their perfumes are more reasonably priced as I have compared their prices with those of the big department stores. The DFS perfumes apparently are cheaper in the PX stores, but then I am not very sure if I am getting the genuine article. 

From Manuelito Reyes:

“I read your article on the DFS today. The government should do something about this. Why do we have a DFS that is losing money because of bad pricing? I don’t regularly go to this shop, I think the last time was almost 10 years ago, and I was surprised to find that this very big store was almost deserted.  But it had a lot of sales people who looked bored and had nothing to do.  This is a government agency that needs to be reviewed by the right authority because I think we are losing money here.”

Maybe it is indeed time that somebody looks into this, especially on the matter of procurement and pricing. I ne-ver intended to rock the boat, but the readers who reacted in have strong sentiments about this.  I am reprinting only a few of the mail that I received, purely on a constructive note, something I strive to keep through all my journalistic endeavors.

Mabuhay!!!  Be proud to be a Filipino.

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