Panayam kay Acting Deputy Commissioner Michael Fermin, BOC, Internal Administration Group (January 5, 2024)
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Transcript
00:00 Meanwhile, we will talk about the online sales of unclaimed Balikbayan boxes. We will talk to Acting Deputy Commissioner Michael Fermin of the Internal Administration Group of the Bureau of Customs.
00:13 Depcom Fermin, good morning to you.
00:15 Good morning to all of our viewers.
00:19 Yes sir. Good morning. First of all, what is the policy of the Bureau of Customs regarding the unclaimed Balikbayan boxes and the ones we see online? What is your reaction to this?
00:30 The policy of our office is to ensure that the boxes can reach the owners. Even if there are cases where the forwarders abandoned the boxes, we are still trying to give the boxes to the owners through other means to locate the owners of the boxes.
00:54 We watched the viral video where there are mystery boxes or Balikbayan boxes that were bought online. We investigated this in our Customs Intelligence and Investigation Services.
01:09 Based on the initial report, the ones that were shown are from the company Golden Express International Cargo.
01:20 This was sold under the service agreement of the senders. This is like a promo. In the initial report, it was revealed that this is a promo, ship now, pay later.
01:40 This means that they are paying down payment abroad and when it comes to this, they have to pay the balance upon delivery of the boxes.
01:50 What happened here is that when they lost their payment, they have an agreement with the senders that within two months, when the boxes are not claimed or paid,
02:06 they are being forced to liquidate the boxes to defray the cost of shipments and mobilization.
02:19 So it means that it was not liquidated, but this was agreed upon between the sender and the forwarder and the customs was released. Is that right?
02:27 That's right.
02:29 Were the sold Balikbayan boxes identified?
02:33 Yes. Those Balikbayan boxes were released to the Bureau of Customs, the forwarders. That's why we don't have jurisdiction.
02:45 What we can do is to subpoena the companies and the person who sold it to see if there are boxes that are not established by the ownership of the company
03:02 for them to sell or dispose. Because generally, we don't encourage that because the Balikbayan boxes should reach the owners.
03:13 For some reasons, if there is a consent under their service agreement, the forwarders have the right to dispose those boxes to liquidate the cost.
03:29 What is the punishment for those who can prove that they are selling unclaimed Balikbayan boxes?
03:35 If the seller and the buyer are not covered by the service agreement, do you have a punishment for them?
03:44 If the seller and the buyer are not covered by the service agreement, we can punish them.
03:50 If the seller and the buyer are not covered by the service agreement, we can punish them.
04:03 We can subpoena them because they are frauds. They are claiming that they can sell the boxes, but the truth is that the owners are different.
04:16 The Bureau of Customs, for example, has left or abandoned the Balikbayan boxes.
04:24 Is there a time frame within which you are allowed to liquidate or dispose the abandoned Balikbayan boxes?
04:33 We don't set a time frame. What we do is, even if it's one or two years, we still locate those boxes.
04:44 If there's no manifest that is placed, there are boxes that are identified.
04:52 There are boxes that are placed, who is the sender, where is the address or contact number. We contact them.
04:59 Some efforts, we attempt to deliver it. But there are cases where the boxes are not identified.
05:05 Maybe over time, the letters are just a little bit on the packing tape, which is a little bit slippery. Over time, sometimes the boxes are not identified.
05:15 So it's challenging for the Customs to identify or locate the owner.
05:22 For example, if the boxes are identified as subject to duties and taxes, but the claimant doesn't want to pay, how will that happen?
05:35 If the boxes are not paid, it will result in abandonment. If it's an abandonment, that will be in favor of the government.
05:46 So what we do is, if it's an abandonment, we still donate and return it to the owners.
05:53 What we do is, we locate and give them the boxes. They don't pay for it.
06:00 Then we file charges against the deconsolidators.
06:06 In the past, we filed 11 cases in the Department of Justice to stop these unscrupulous activities of our forwarders.
06:16 Depcom, one of our countrymen in Canada said that he lost his box in 2019.
06:22 He said that he will pay P18,000 to P20,000. Is there a policy or rule like this in the Customs?
06:30 There is no policy like that. We are also calling on them not to believe in it.
06:36 Scams are spreading, the BOC is identifying the employee and he needs to pay.
06:43 The BOC will never stop, especially over the phone.
06:47 There are offices and the payments are made in the bank. It's not a GDG cash, it's not deposited in the account or personally collected by our people.
07:00 So if there are such cases, we are asking them to help us and we will also investigate it.
07:08 We will make sure that if there are employees of the BOC who are involved in this, they will be dealt accordingly.
07:18 We will file a case so that they will not only be charged criminally, but also they can be removed from their service.
07:27 Is there a number that they can call to file charges?
07:30 They can call our hotline number. This is 8705-6000 or they can email us at BOC.cares@customs.gov.ph
07:44 or on our social media platforms, they can look for the BOC's account on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok.
07:53 Thank you very much for the update. Good morning to you.
07:56 Thank you very much.
07:58 Customs Acting Deputy Commissioner Michael Fermin.
08:02 (In Tagalog)
08:15 (Music)