Winning bidder to release overstaying balikbayan boxes to intended recipients

The Bureau of Customs (BOC) and a company that won the auction for overstaying shipments have agreed to release balikbayan boxes to their proper recipients in for the Christmas season.

The company, Pherica International, intended to sell the overstaying balikbayan boxes to other buyers.

In an emailed statement on Wednesday, the BOC said 400 balikbayan boxes at the Manila International Container Port (MICP) will be released to the intended recipients as part of an agreement between the bureau and Pherica International during a public auction on Tuesday.

The balikbayan boxes have been at the MICP since March.

The bureau noted that Pherica agreed to the request to release the boxes to "their rightful recipients at a reasonable cost in time for the Christmas season."

Pherica will coordinate with the MICP and with the recipients to process the balikbayan boxes.

An abandoned shipment with 400 boxes arrived at the MICP via RDR Forwarding, a US-based cargo forwarder.

RDR went bankrupt and failed to secure a local forwarder to process the shipment the BOC noted.

"Since the abandonment, the balikbayan box senders said they can no longer contact RDR," the bureau said.

According to Section 1129 of the Customs Tariff and Modernization Act, an imported shipment is deemed abandoned if the importer or consignee fails to process the entry form for the shipment within 30 days. In case the entry form has been processed, the shipment must be claimed within 15 days or else the shipment will be seized in favor of the government and sold in a public auction.

"Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon previously instructed MICP officials to look into this special case and exhaust all possible remedies so that the overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and their families won't be troubled for long by the forwarder's negligence," the bureau said.

"Relatives of OFWs present during the auction expressed their gratitude to BOC officials and to Pherica for this very timely act of kindness," it added. — Ted Cordero/VDS, GMA News