DEPARTMENT Of Finance Secretary Frederick Go on Wednesday, February 18, took time from his very hectic schedule by personally overseeing the release to their rightful recipients of the thousands of ‘Balikbayan’ boxes abandoned on arrival at the Bureau of Customs by unscrupulous freight forwarders and ‘deconsolidators.’
It was Secretary Go who made the representation with President Marcos Jr. for the government to shoulder the storage, demurrage and other fees so the boxes can be finally released to their rightful owners on the suggestion of Commissioner Ariel F. Nepomuceno.
During their meeting to resolve the long-festering problem last year, the Customs chief also informed Secretary Go that an inventory he ordered showed that some 140 containers of balikbayan boxes have been abandoned by their freight forwarders and deconsolidators resulting to their forfeiture— to the distress of OFWs and their families.
Ensuring delivery without burdening OFWs
Going further, the Marcos administration decided to have the packages delivered to their rightful recipients free of charge, to further ease the burden on OFWs and their families.
Earlier reports said the Office of the President released ₱30 million to fund the laudable project.
“We heard your pleas, and the President has approved the door-to-door delivery of all your boxes.
“Ang ibig sabihin po nito ay matatanggap nang walang dagdag gastos ang inyong mga padala, diretso sa bahay mismo ng inyong mga mahal sa buhay,” Secretary Go told the over two dozen OFWs and their families gathered at the Port of Manila (POM) for the formal turnover of their long-awaited packages.
The BOC started releasing the packages to the warehouses of its logistics partners last December 18, 2025, covering 20,944 boxes loaded into 68 containers (Pinoy Exposé, January 4, 2026).
Of the total, 14,305 boxes have already been successfully delivered door-to-door to their rightful recipients, the BOC noted.
The release of the final wave overseen by the Finance Chie consisted of 24,536 boxes loaded into 72 container vans of which 14 containers have already been released from the Manila International Container Port (MICP).
58 containers, meanwhile, remain under processing pending the completion of clearances and the waiver of port charges.
“Upon compliance with all documentary requirements, the BOC will proceed with the release and delivery of the remaining containers to their intended recipients,” Commissioner Nepomuceno said.
The final distribution aligns with the BOC’s commitment to Secretary Go to effect the release of all pending balikbayan boxes within 60 days.
Solving the problem once and for all
The persistent backlog has largely been caused by foreign-based freight consolidators who entice OFWs with unusually low shipping fees and promises of fast, door-to-door delivery.
These consolidators collect payments abroad and ship the boxes in bulk, but upon arrival, fail to complete the required processing or settle charges —including shipping line, port, storage, and handling fees.
As a result, shipments remain unprocessed, unpaid, and are eventually deemed abandoned at customs, despite OFWs having already paid in full.
To finally address the problem, Commissioner Nepomuceno said the agency has sought the assistance of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in going after the forwarders and deconsolidators who swindled the OFWs of their hard-earned money.
With the approval of Secretary Go, the BOC is also finalizing an administrative order (CAO) in the accreditation of freight forwarders and deconsolidators. Nepomuceno said they are eyeing a cash bond of ₱2 million from applicants to show they are financially capable to deliver the services expected from them.
In September 2025, the Customs chief also signed an order directing for the creation of a ‘Balikbayan Action Center’ in all of the bureau’s 17 collection districts to be supervised by Deputy Commissioner for Assessment and Operations (AOCG) Atty. Agaton Uvero (Pinoy Exposé, September 14, 2025).
Earlier, in June 2025, the BOC also inked a ‘Joint Memorandum Order’ (JAO) with the Department of Transportation (DOTr), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) and the Philippine Ports of Authority (PPA) focused on strengthening regulatory oversight for foreign and domestic freight forwarders responsible for the handling of incoming balikbayan boxes (Pinoy Exposé, June 16, 2025).