Another issue that worries OFWs right now does not only concern Balikbayan Box, this is worse than Balikbayan Box. The new policy means they will open the checked-in baggages upon arrival at the airport to inspect the things purchased abroad -and that is taxable. The example of the officer concerns "1 piece of imported bag", (note that she did not say branded but imported) will be taxed upon arrival in Philippines. Of course all bags bought from foreign countries are imported. Should they not consider that OFWs bring stuffs for personal use and as 'pasalubong' only, very rarely would it be for business. And if they ever re-sell some of the things that they brought home, I doubt they could make big profit out of it. Now they would also impose tax on those? We're not talking of VAT only, this is "duty tax+vat". Upon arrival, the first thing an OFW has to do is pay the tax of the 'taxable pasalubong' found in his luggage.
The apprehension of the man who is travelling on a monthly basis to the US is not our worries, what we should be very worried about is the warning issued by the Assistant Chief of the Bureau of Customs at NAIA.
On another news, this Balikbayan Box was already opened when the owner received it, with most of the items rotten and in unusable condition.
