The Migrante International on Saturday slammed the Bureau of Customs’ order as an "insult, an added chore and a killjoy" to overseas Filipino workers and their families.
The group said that Customs Memorandum Order 04-2017 appears to be another money-making scheme aimed to justify tax impositions and other fund-generating requirements from OFWs and their families.
“Itong mga taga-Customs, halatang walang malasakit at walang respeto sa mga OFWs. Hindi ba nila alam na kasama sa sayang dulot ng balikbayan box ang surpresang dulot nito sa mga pamilya? Pati ba naman ito ay tatanggalin nila? Gusto nilang tanggalin ang saya ng OFW at pamilya sa pagpapadala at pagtanggap ng balikbayan box [It is obvious that these people from the Customs do not care and has no respect for the OFWs. Don’t they know that these balikbayan boxes bring happiness to the OFWs and their families?]," Arman Hernando, Migrante International spokesperson, said.
CMO 04-2017 requires balikbayan boxes to include an itemized list of all its contents and receipts of newly-puchased items inside the box.
It also requires that recipients should be relatives and family members who have to prove that they are Filipino citizens.
Migrante cited one of the reactions of an OFW, who has wondered why the BoC targets them instead of big-time smugglers.
"The balikbayan box is sacred to OFWs. The most humble balikbayan boxes contain the most personalized translation of love and affection for its recipients. Sending and receiving is a delightful event in itself. The least the government could do is to make sure that this simple vehicle of love is not burdened by unnecessary requirements and money-making schemes at the expense of OFWs and their families,” Hernando said.