OFWs stage Zero Remittance today

MANILA, Philippines - Overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are staging a “Zero Remittance Day” today to signify their protest against the Bureau of Customs (BOC)’s new policies.

Militant groups led by the Partido Lakas ng Masa (PLM) yesterday held a protest rally in front of the BOC and threw empty balikbayan boxes with pictures of Customs Commissioner Alberto Lina.

PLM chairman Sonny Melencio said they are calling for the resignation of Lina for “conflict of interest.”

The militant overseas workers group Migrante said overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in over 16 countries have signified to take part in the Zero Remittance Day.

“We have been receiving reports from OFW groups and communities in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, South Korea, Japan, Middle East, Vietnam, Thailand, United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Australia, Switzerland and other parts of the world, telling us that they are already gearing for tomorrow’s protest,” said Connie Regalado of Migrante.

“Aug. 28 will be biggest, most defiant Zero Remittance Day against the Aquino administration,” she added.

In the United Arab Emirates alone, over 26,000 OFWs expressed their intention to join the protest.

“OFWs from different regions around the world have expressed their intent to participate in tomorrow’s protest. Here in the Philippines, we have also monitored families telling their relatives abroad to join the Zero Remittance Day,” Regalado said.

Migrante said OFWs around the world agreed to mount Zero Remittance Day to protest the Aquino government and the Bureau of Customs’ imposed P600-million revenue target from balikbayan boxes.

The Aquino government has put a stop to the BOC’s random inspection of balikbayan boxes after OFWs took to social media to express their outrage. 

But Migrante said the government remains mum on how it plans to retrieve revenues it allegedly lost from “smuggled goods” or “non-declared goods” in balikbayan boxes.

As long as the P600-million target collection stays, Migrante said OFWs and their families have every reason to protest.

Regalado said they expect the Zero Remittance Day to be a success and a resounding declaration of the OFWs’ collective action against the Aquino administration.

The Aquino administration’s most recent statements belittling the Zero Remittance Day, she said, only incited OFWs and their families.

“They feel insulted. They feel challenged. They feel confronted. There is no love lost now between OFWs and their families and the Aquino government,” she said. 

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said the launching of the Zero Remittance Day against the Customs policy is unnecessary.

Foreign Affairs spokesman Charles Jose said the government has addressed the OFWs’ concerns about the new policy.

“That is unnecessary since the government had already made efforts to stop the inspection of balikbayan boxes following the complaints,” Jose said.

The Federation of Overseas Filipino Workers (FOFW) in Negros Occidental, on the other hand, hailed President Aquino’s order to the BOC to stop its random physical inspection of balikbayan boxes. 

FOFW Negros Occidental president Salvacion Barrios said they are amenable to the President’s order for a mandatory X-ray and K-9 examination of the boxes without cost to the OFW sender, instead of a random check.

The opening of balikbayan boxes and physical inspection of goods should only be done in case of derogatory findings or if unscrupulous items are seen, “but with the presence of the owner or their representative,” she added.

Barrios pointed out there have been failures on the part of Customs, where some items inside the balikbayan boxes were lost or whole boxes were reported missing or recalled for a different reason.

“We have members who have experienced having their balikbayan boxes seemingly ransacked,” Barrios said.

When families of OFWs complain about it, the freight services would always refer them back to Customs.

Customs Commissioner Alberto Lina had insisted balikbayan boxes are being used to smuggle illegal drugs and ammunition, which necessitated a random check on packages.

BOC Intelligence chief Jessie Dellosa said they are not discounting the possibility that smugglers are using balikbayan boxes.

“That is a possibility. Based on our information, we act only if there is reliable information. We cannot just open everything, how about the innocent, how about the legal (shipments)? Many would be inconvenienced, so we would act on intelligence information,” he added.

Dellosa pointed out that given their limited personnel, they focus their resources more on formal entry. – Evelyn Macairan, Danny Dangcalan, Pia Lee Brago