‘Abandoned’ balikbayan boxes of 200 Filipinos in UAE to be auctioned off

Hundreds of balikbayan boxes belonging to at least 200 Filipinos in the UAE will be auctioned off in the Philippines after the care boxes were “abandoned” for months by a UAE-based cargo forwarding company. Photos and videos of the care boxes bearing All Win Cargo branding have been widely circulated on social media recently after their worried owners traced them to abandoned warehouses in the Philippines. Many of the boxes have reportedly been left undelivered for at least a year. Sarah Caminade, a Dubai-based Filipina, told 24Oras News that at least 200 Filipinos in the UAE have joined her online group to call out the UAE-based cargo forwarding company for gross negligence of the balikbayan boxes that they paid to be delivered to their families in the Philippines. Caminade said she has waited since last year for her hard-earned balikbayan box to be delivered. She said the cargo company has failed to give a clear explanation on the extreme delay in delivering her package. Commenters on a Facebook group called All Win Cargo Updates, which has more than 300 members, echoed the same sentiment. J. Lacuesta, another Dubai-based Filipino, said she sent six boxes through All Win Cargo in April but that until now the boxes have not been delivered. “We are trying to follow up with their office in Dubai, but they can’t be contacted on their telephone number,” Lacuesta said. The Filipina bemoaned the loss of her packages, saying that overseas Filipino workers like her painstakingly save their salaries for months in order to buy the items that they ship home to their families. The Bureau of Customs (BOC) has investigated the issue. BOC spokesman Vincent Philip Maronilla said that a BOC investigation revealed that the cargo company did not have a Philippine-based partner and consolidator, which led to the unreleased shipment. “So when the shipment arrived in the Philippines, no one could process the paperwork, which led to the boxes being abandoned here,” Maronilla explained in Filipino. He added that BOC was also not able to contact the UAE-based company. The cargo company’s office in the UAE is now closed. Expatmedia.net calls to its Dubai office also remained unanswered. The BOC spokesman said that the authority is working with the Consolidators Association of the Philippines to have the balikbayan boxes auctioned off, which is the “only legal option” to dispose of the boxes. BOC will reportedly try to persuade the bidders to hand over the boxes to the owners of the balikbayan boxes, according to a 24Oras report quoting the BOC spokesman. Under Philippine law, packages left unclaimed for a considerable period will be deemed abandoned and placed under auction. Packages are typically placed on hold due to various circumstances, including when the cargo forwarder is not registered with Philippine authorities, or if the company failed to pay due taxes. ICA/Expat Media
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