• Home

7 things UAE Filipinos cannot put in their 'Balikbayan boxes'

Dubai - These items are banned for entry to the Philippines.

Filipino expats around the world, those in the UAE included, send packages back home containing various items. Inside these boxes one may find imported food, toys, gadgets, clothing and more. These boxes of goodies are for the expat's family back home -- a slice of their hard work that they share with their loved ones.
The 'Balikbayan box' is no stranger to the Filipino expat experience with many expats sending parcels back home almost every year. But here's the thing, not all items can be sent back home. According to the Filipino Times, expats cannot put several banned items inside their Balikbayan box. Below is a list of those banned items.
- Any item containing/purely made of gold, silver or other precious metals with no stamp indicating the fineness of the quality of the metals or alloys used.
- Misbranded food products. You also cannot bring cheese, meat, fruits and vegetables unless they are canned.
- Any media containing obscene or immoral subject matter.
- Drugs that promote unlawful abortion. Medical items can only be brought if they are prescribed by a doctor.
- Materials that advocate or incite treason, rebellion, insurrection, sedition against the Philippine government.
- Materials that threaten to kill, or harm any person in the Philippines.
- Items deemed as unlawful by the Intellectual Property Code
According to an Inquirer report, the consequences of having banned items affect not only the offending individual. Since the shipping of a Balikbayan box is consolidated, one package with a prohibited item affects all other packages inside a shipping container.