Mayor Duterte stands up for OFWs over Balikbayan boxes controversy

CEBU, Philippines – Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte slammed the Bureau of Customs for targeting Balikbayan boxes for taxation, saying the agency should be on the lookout for big time smugglers instead of preying on the “expression of love and affection” of overseas Filipino workers for their families.

Duterte issued this statement to the members of the Ormoc Garden Club, led by former Ormoc City mayor and Leyte’s 4th district representative Vicky Locsin, who went to Davao City to experience the Kadayawan Festival.

The mayor said government should “stop treating the OFWs like milking cows. "Those Balikbayan Boxes are sacred. They are an expression of love and affection. Nobody should be allowed to make a mockery of this sentimental bond between an OFW and his family back home," he told the Ormocanons.

Duterte said every box of goodies that an OFW sends to his wife and children is a result of months of savings. "Alam ba ng mga taga Customs na pati ang pag-arrange ng mga pasalubong ay may emotional meaning?," he asked.

The tariff-free Balikbayan boxes is a tradition started during the time of former President Marcos, a tradition which has been respected by all other presidents, said Duterte, as he admitted that the privilege could be “subject to abuse” by some people who use it to smuggle dutiable items.

"There are other ways to address this problem,” said Duterte, adding that BOC Commissioner Lina, who owns a forwarding company, knows what safeguards could be implemented by these companies from the points of shipment.

The mayor also pointed out that the security authorities in the US are more stringent in their examination of the shipments, he said. "Let's put an end to the exploitation of these people (OFWs) who have sacrificed a lot working away from their families just to secure a better future for their children," he said.

Duterte said he did not understand why the BOC should focus on the tiny boxes shipped by the OFWs when there are bigger smuggling activities being undertaken by organized groups.

"Hindi nga nila matigil yong smuggling ng bigas, karne ng baboy, manok, bawang at sibuyas. Why don't they address these problems first?," he asked.

The mayor said he is bothered by the BOC move to open the Balikbayan boxes because Davao City has its own share of the more than three million Filipinos working away from their homes.