More than 3,500 balikbayan boxes have yet to reach the recipients, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) said Wednesday.

In a “Laging Handa” public briefing, BOC spokesperson Arnaldo de la Torre said: “There are 32 abandoned containers with 8,606 balikbayan boxes shipped and abandoned by various straight forwarders. More than 5,000 were already released and distributed to their rightful owners.”

“As of December 16, these past few days, the Bureau of Customs is processing 3,557 remaining boxes for distribution to its ultimate consignees,” he added.

Balikbayan boxes are sent by overseas foreign workers to their relatives in the Philippines. These usually contain canned goods, shoes and clothes

Since September, several balikbayan boxes that mostly came from the Middle East were found at a warehouse in Balagtas, Bulacan.

De la Torre said these boxes will continue to be distributed with the help of BOC collection districts.

He said the 16 boxes delivered by CMG International Movers & Cargo Services had gone through a physical examination to identify the sender but the Door to Door Consolidators Association of the Philippines (DDCAP) could not deliver the boxes because of incomplete information of the consignees.

On the other hand, the 39 balikbayan boxes under Kabayan Island remain at the DDCAP since these have issues related to the information of the consignees. The 1,886 boxes under All Win are on their way to the BOC ports and will be delivered once they receive them.

“(The balikbayan boxes) that were not claimed in Balagtas, Bulacan were sent to the provinces like Mindanao, Davao, and General Santos…there were also boxes sent to the Visayas region. So the containers are already there and they have been delivered,” De la Torre said. Jaspearl Tan/DMS