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Friday, December 28, 2018

How Filipinos Send Their Packages From Abroad

By Douglas Mitchell


People sometimes migrate to look for greener pastures. This is especially true in countries where job opportunities are few or the pay is just too low. One particular country has been very successful in exporting workers. These often become resident aliens in another country and stay there for a long time. When they return home they bring with them present for family and friends using a concept call balikbayan box padala.

This carton receptacle is a manifestation of a cultural ambiguity of close family ties as it is known in the Philippines. It is a tradition in this culturally rich country. Even before this concept was implemented, it has been a practice as evidenced by invited guests to take home excess food during celebrations. When they travel to different parts of the nation, they bring home delicacies.

The practice of sending or bringing a home present when one comes from a travel is unique only to the Philippines. This nation archipelago of more the seven thousand islands has three main geographical subdivisions which are the main island of Luzon, Mindanao, and the smaller island at the center called the Visayas. Roman Catholicism is the main religion with Muslim influence in the south.

This state is a polyglot one. It has several linguistic dialects almost in each of the islands. Despite three hundred years of Spanish colonialization, these dialects are still being actively spoken to this day, only very few can actually speak Spanish. This unlike in contiguous lands that were conquered by Spain where local dialects were totally eliminated and Spanish is now the main language.

These influences were carried over with the increase in the number of workers going abroad seeking job opportunities, particularly in the United States. This started when America had a shortage of nurses of which the Philippines had plenty of. Most of the overseas workers eventually become immigrants and some are granted citizenship.

Filipinos are known to be very hospitable to strangers from other countries. More so among its own relatives to the extent that they really take time and spend money in sending presents to those left at home or they bring presents contained in balikbayan boxes when they visit the Philippines. This container is the recipient of many items and objects which will find its way to that nation.

Three hundred years of Spanish rule and fifty years of American occupation has made an impact on the Filipino psyche. The influence can no more be as opposite as black and white. It is like a mixture of oil and water. We are talking about hard religious fanaticism married to Hollywood liberalism. This unique trait made the government legislated laws for that made taxes and customs duties affordable to workers from abroad.

The concept was formulated in recognition of the economic contribution of these employees in terms of dollar remittances. Professional manpower has become a major export for this nation. There was a hitch to this program during the nine eleven terrorist attacks. In its aftermath, the homeland security department was created which strictly monitored and inspected these containers.

The most common complaint about this government program is pilferage. This happens when the packages got through the national postal service or through customs. It really is difficult for this plentiful packages to be monitored and tracked. Some employees of these services can be tempted to pilfer the contents once they are inspected. This will force the sender to seek other methods.




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