The President met with the Secretary of Finance and the Commissioner of Customs this afternoon. He emphasized that OFW families view the balikbayan box as an integral part of the family relationship to nurture loved ones at home and as a tangible sign of their love and concern for their family members.

He also emphasized the reality that more often than not, the only people who know what are in the boxes are the people who send them and the family members who receive them. But there have been instances when unscrupulous individuals have used balikbayan boxes to break the law, and placed the greater community at risk. For example, gun parts, ammunition and gun accessories were found in seven balikbayan boxes, 81,529 tablets of anti-anxiety drugs were misdeclared as food supplements in November 2014, 413 Casio G-Shock watches, and even a custom Harley Davidson Chopper motorcycle of a Hollywood scriptwriter in 2011, among other high end car parts, were also delivered through balikbayan boxes.

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