What's in the box?
Customs people would like to know, with the new crackdown on those ubiquitous Balikbayan boxes that our migrant workers have a penchant for sending home every so often.
Of course we all know what they are. Even on planes, travelers use them as luggage, but more often than not, they're the cargo container of choice by millions of Filipinos abroad for the medicines and toiletries and condiments and grocery goodies that are sent to loved ones.
I love these boxes. I look forward to opening them whenever my sisters remember us (which is often, especially when they're cleaning house and need to make space for new acquisitions.). That smell of imported stuff that wafts up when you start disgorging the contents - priceless! Ah, the emotions encapsulated in that scent: excitement, anticipation, the I'm gonna get a gift now now now feeling!
After studying abroad, I couldn't bear to part with my textbooks and hand-outs and pamphlets - so I dumped them all in my Balikbayan box. Ditto for the stupid souvenirs I picked up along the way. Those winter jackets and bulky sweaters I could not have any possible use for in tropical Manila? In they went, together with pencils, highlighters, propaganda pins, credit card bills, everything that didn't belong in the trash can or my suitcases.
They were the cheapest form of delivery that was available on campus - imagine, the couriers even picked it up from my dormitory, so I didn't have to wander around Michigan fruitlessly looking for their outlet. It was a big life saver, as then I wouldn't have to schlepp extra luggage and pay excess baggage fees.
My point is, this here is an institution. It's what cash strapped Pinoys resort to when they want to send little gifts or big necessities to family back home. Durable blankets, comfy towels, a few bits of canned goods that are prohibitive to buy in Manila - minor items that add just the tiniest bit of comfort and make local life that much more tolerable.
Yet for some bizarre reason, after decades of being institutionalized in the lives of Filipinos, here comes the Bureau of Customs demanding to open boxes and checking them for their contents.
Now anyone who has had to deal with Customs personnel at the post office can attest to how rapacious these people are. They're vultures, waiting to swoop on the unfortunate public who, ironically, lead even more wretched lives than they. They won't release bulky wedding invitations that are boxed until the addressee pays a huge import duty that costs even more than the contents (or finds a way to slip a few bucks into the thieving hands of this government scum.)
So of course, we the public are up in arms at this new form of economic extraction. Do we believe the Customs officers are going to behave and that they'll resist the temptation to dip their sticky fingers into whatever they find interesting inside the box? I certainly don't.
I'm not one for generalizations - except with Customs personnel. They should all be fired and replaced with automatons. If we give them this newfound freedom to open Balikbayan boxes to inspect smuggled or dutiable goods, I think they're going to find something even if there's nothing. They're such liberal interpreters of the law (and that's saying it politely). Their rule of thumb is, if there's doubt as to dutiable value, then yes, it should be dutiable.
The only way to persuade them otherwise is not with reasoning or by arguing fine points of the law, but by extracting a few bills from the wad. That, or sharing the spoils with them. Meaning, be prepared to share a bottle of imported shampoo or a box of pampers. Or maybe not even voluntarily share. As the migrant workers associations have pointed out, Customs personnel could have a field day pilfering and plundering the contents, so that what gets into the hands of the addressee are the dregs.
Sure, let's fight smuggling. But let's fight it with the right weapons. Not with these poor excuses for civil servants. Get the right people and systems in place, and then we can talk. Meanwhile, stay away from my boxes.