04 December 2014 - The Philippine Embassy in Bangkok and the office of the Philippine Trade and Investment Counselor (PTIC), in cooperation with the  Business Licensing and Accreditation Division of the Fair Trade Investment Bureau (FTB) of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), held a public forum on November 22 for Filipinos in Thailand on safe practices for sending balikbayan boxes to the Philippines. The resource speakers were officials from the FTB led by Ms. Emma Panopio. Around 50 members of the Filipino community in Bangkok attended the forum.

The Embassy and its co-organizers held the forum to address several complaints from Filipinos in Thailand on the loss, pilferage/damage, non-delivery, or unreasonable delay of balikbayan boxes sent to the Philippines, using the services of freight forwarding companies.

The number one advice was to use freight forwarding companies with DTI-accredited Philippine counterparts. The FTB officials further shared the following tips to ensure that balikbayan boxes reach their intended destination:

1. 1.Check the  list  of  DTI-accredited  Philippine  counterparts/agents at http://www.dti.gov.ph/dti/index.php?p=409;
2. Be wary of exceptionally very low rates;
3. Declare all the contents of your shipment in the packing list;
4. Keep and secure transport documents such as cargo or official receipt and Bill of Lading;
5. Know the name and contact details of the Philippine counterparts/agents;
6. Monitor the movement of your cargo from origin to destination to make sure it is being shipped and delivered; and
7. Immediately file a complaint for any loss, non-delivery, pilferage or damaged cargo to the Business Licensing and Accreditation Division, Fair Trade Investment Bureau, of DTI located at the 2nd Floor, DTI Bldg., 361 Sen. Gil Puyat Avenue, Makati City or through fax at +63 2 751-3305, or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The FTB officials clarified that the delay in the delivery of some balikbayan boxes is also partly due to congestion at the Manila Port.  They added that the Philippine government and port authorities are already taking steps to address port congestion. END