In response to new regulations set by the Philippines on Balikbayan boxes – large packages that Hong Kong’s foreign domestic workers send home to their families – about 1,000 Filipinos marched through the streets on Sunday.
The Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) were mobilised by their frustration over newly imposed fees and inspections of the boxes, which they send home packed with clothes, appliances (given from their employers), food, supplies and small gifts a few times a year, or whenever their minimum wage of HKD4,110 a month will permit.
Chanting from Chater Garden all the way to the Philippine Consulate in Admiralty, the group shouted, “Don’t open our box. Don’t steal our box. Don’t tax our box”.
More than 100 organisations also signed a petition to abandon the new tax and box check policy and add their voices to a call for Philippines Customs Commissioner Alberto Lina to step down.
Talking to Coconuts HK at the rally, domestic helper Jane said, “It’s [sending the boxes] my way of caring and showing my love to family. The government is taking that away from us and we’re very angry. That’s why we’re here”.
Eman Villanueva, chairman of Bayan Hong Kong and Macau – a group of organisations fighting for social justice for Filipinos around the world – said that as the Bureau of Customs in the Philippines is considered to be one of most corrupt in the world, many women are worried that the items they send will not reach their families. “So when they open up cargo boxes, they [customs officials] may take items for themselves or the contents may break”.
“Liquids may spill and some things may be wasted. They have no respect for that,” photographer and domestic worker Lory Jean Yungco added. She suggested that the money would be better spent on scanners and x-rays machines to check the packages rather than human labour.
Villanueva believes it all boils down to suspicion. “Opening the boxes is based on a malicious accusation from the Bureau of Customs that claims migrants are using the cargo system for smuggling. We say they fail to provide jobs in our home country and then label us as criminals. It is unfair and unjust”.
These women – mothers, aunts, daughters and friends – say they simply use the boxes “to bridge the gap from being away for so long and maintain the connection”.
“It is a big deal to us. The box is full of love. I can’t explain it too well… it really is so sad they are doing this to us”, said Jean Yungco.
Thousands of OFW have also “reacted strongly against it [the new policy] around the world”, Villanueva said. Last week, the global action attempted to put economic pressure on the Filipino government through a zero-remittance day, with overseas workers demonstrating their collective might by refraining from sending money home.
They hope the lobbying will triggering the government to reevaluate their policies after assess the impact of their actions.
And that hope seems abundant. After submitting their petition to a consulate representative at the end of the rally on Sunday, the OFW and their supporters left cheering and smiling.
Photos: Myriam Tsen & Jessica Steinberg/Coconuts Media
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