vonjobi: wow, congratulations! kelan ang trip? i hope i'll be around when you come. had a good time with diosa last...
Keith Bacongco: Knowing Nograles and his Big Boss...garapalan na lang talaga.
Vinia Datinguinoo Mukherjee: Congratulations, PCIJ! Mabuhay kayo!
Lead Philippines: But without credible mass media there, what is left to protect the people..?
vonjobi: it's juned sOniDo.

Latest Message 5 months ago

hopeless_race : Lets not just focus sa mga malversation of funds, sa mga overpricing..ating pagtuunan ng atensyon ang diskarte ng mga politiko na umuutang ng bilyon bilyon sa gobyerno."Small time" ang ibang pamamaraan ng pangungurakot kumpara sa pag-utang sa gobyerno ng bilyon na tunay ngang masasabing "pinaka big-time" at wala pang sabit.
hopeless_race : Mukhang tikom ang bibig ng lahat pagdating sa diskarte ng mga politiko sa pagutang ng mga bilyon bilyon sa gobyerno na tinatakbuhan. Itong pamamaraan na ito ang tunay na kumakain ng malaking porsyento ng ating national budget batay na din sa sinasabi ng world bank.
hopeless_race : Pakisilip naman po ang mga utang ni Villar sa BSP, ang mga utang nila RAMON JACINTO, RONNIE ZAMORA, JOE DE VENECIA at madami pang ibang mga pulitiko. Iilan lamang yan sa mga nababanggit sa balita na may mga malalaking utang sa gobyerno.
hopeless_race : Nagmimistulang "small time" lamang ang malversation of funds kumpara sa laki ng kinakamal ng mga umuutang sa gobyerno. At ito ay malinaw na natatakbuhan dahil hindi nga naman pwede makulong ang may-ari ng kumpanya sa pagkaka-utang lamang. Tunay na mga tuso at magagaling sa batas itong mga politiko natin. Masasabi ko na malamang lahat ng mga politiko ganito ang diskarte...wala pang kulong.
hopeless_race : PCIJ pkitingnan naman po ang mga gaya ni Villar na my malaking utang sa Gobyerno pero tinatakbuhan. Magtatayo ng kumpanya at uutang ng bilyon bilyon sa gobyerno ng walang balak bayaran. Tunay ngang walang nakukulong sa utang...ito ang prinsipyo ginagamit ng mga politiko ntin kaya nakakapagtaka kung san napupunta ang daang bilyong pera ng gobyerno.
hopeless_race : Sana itreat naman po ng media ang hacienda luisita at mendiola massacre na parang MAGUINADANAO MASSACRE. Ipublicized ang mga katotohanan at ipakita sa tao ang karumaldumal na pinaggagawa sa mga farmers dun. Untouchable po ba sila cory at danding at hindi magawang batikusin ng media about these two massacres?
hopeless_race : Kapag napaguusapan ang mendiola at hacienda luisita massacre ay parang walang nangyari at parang hindi big deal. Anu po ba ang pinagkaiba ng dalawang nabanggit na massacre sa maguindanao massacre?
hopeless_race : Its sad that we pinoys are blind to the fact of what had happened in mendiola and hacienda luisita. Ang tanong..bakit ang media ay hindi manlang matackle ang ganitong usapin? Takot ba sila kay cory at danding?
hopeless_race : Wilkins" brand, for P1.4 billion.-1999 Sugarland Multi-Food Corp. for P2.9 billion 2001- Purefoods Corp P7 billion P60 billion Coca-Cola ... See More 2002- Cosmos Bottling Corp. from RFM Corp. for P14.1 billion October 2008- GSIS' shares in Meralco worth PHP30 Billion. December 2008- country's biggest oil refiner, Petron Corporation. international company shopping spree: Australian boutique brewer J. Boag and Son for A$96 million in 2000. $97 million for Thai Amarit Brewery Ltd $35.5 mi
hopeless_race : Gud am..glad to be back.
jr_lad : rip mr. alecks pabico. you'll be greatly missed!
sevens21 : Dati input mo lng name at SSS ID makukuha mo agad STATIC INFO...
sevens21 : tawag ka sa HOTLINE nila walang ANSWER grrr we need pa namn ng static info SSS Gising!!!
sevens21 : Gawa naman po kayo ng article about SSS. Pangit ng site nila dali ma blocked ng account
guest_899 : we must check the background of each potential candidates to avoid having another big mistake like GMA
guest_899 : congratulations to PCIJ, more power and God Bless !
jazzymuver : how did Arroyo swallow that kind of things!! how come that she just spend the money our countrymen for her own sake!!
guest_3664 : i would be glad if u can include the investigation of the manner public officials announce infra projects as per COA regulation. It is frustrating to see their faces on the tarpaulin instead of the prescribed information like name of project, date of implementation,amount of contract, source/s of fund, among other things. This is very rampant here in Marikina. Thanks and more power on your noble endeavors. We need people like you to have make our country great again.
jhanz_08 : im making research on R.A 9136...with rgards to the privatization of NPC..could someone out there can let me understand more bout this matter?why was monopoly dismantled?email me..jhanycem@yahoo.com...thanks much
erika marie : P.S.:) my paper is due next week and i do hope someone could provide me these reports coming from reliable resources thank you ulit.
erika marie : P.S.
guest_4275 : i am currently doing a study regarding political killings in the philippines. could someone out there please send me human rights reports under Aquino and Ramos administration. you could send it at my email: erikamariet@yahoo.com your response would surely be very much appreciated. thank you everyone. god bless.
guest_4275 : i am currently doing a study for my paper regarding political killings in the philippines. i noted that there are no human rights reports during the Aquino and Ramos administration. could someone out there please send me reports regarding these matter? i do hope these reports came from reliable resources you could send it in my email; erikamariet@yahoo.comyour response would surely be appreciated. thanks everyone. god bless.
jayson bourne : gusto ko po maging member ng PCIJ, panu po ba? may application po ba? sana mapadalhan nyo ako ng info sa email ko... www.jboxpenshoppe@yahoo.com
jayson bourne : cory is OK, but kris & Noynoy sensationalize masyado...
guest_9891 : LABAN pa rin!
meow : boycotts worked during marcos years. how about doing it now against the businesses of the con-ass congressmen?
meow : aside from 168, what other establishments can we boycott that belong to the arroyos and their cronies?
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Out of the (balikbayan) box

Posted by: Alecks P. Pabico | January 9, 2006 at 11:54 am
Filed under: General

THIS past Christmas season no doubt saw a deluge of Philippine-bound balikbayan boxes, huge packages that overseas Filipinos send home. They can contain anything and everything — canned food, clothes, toiletries, and of course, chocolates. Balikbayan boxes are how Filipinos stay in touch with loved ones, contribute to their sustenance, and share with family and friends a piece of the place they happen to be in, whether the United States, Europe or Asia.

In "Out of the (Balikbayan) Box," Luz Rimban writes about the practice of sending such packages and how it has generated a multibillion-peso cargo-forwarding industry.

Writes Rimban:

I have been a recipient of ‘Stateside" goods since my childhood in the 1960s when my aunt, a nurse who had joined the wave of migrants to the United States a decade earlier, was sending stuff home to the Philippines. Back then, there was no such thing as a balikbayan box yet, and door-to-door cargo had still to reach these shores. But I had no interest in finding out just how the items got to our home, so long as the toys and other knick-knacks didn’t lose their way coming from my aunt’s house and into my eager little hands. I’ve since been told my aunt sent many other things, from bed sheets to towels to Hills Bros coffee, usually through returning fellow Filipinos. At one point, my grandmother even started making smooth fluffy pancakes that could not have possibly risen out of her favorite old kawali but had to be the result of being cooked in the amazing new Teflon pan sent over from San Diego, California.

Like many others who came ahead of her and after, my aunt sought out well-paying nursing jobs in the United States, starting around New Jersey in the East Coast before marrying a fellow Filipino and ending up on the opposite side of the continent. In the early years, when she sent parcels or brought her young family home to Manila, she talked about the questions her baffled children asked that provided clues to what she and other Filipinos were sending home: "Don’t they have sausage in the Philippines? Do Filipinos brush their teeth? Don’t they have toothpaste there?"

But the packages were never really about their contents. The gifts, whatever they were, were a way of reassuring folks back home that relationships remained intact despite the distance, that they had not been forgotten and were wished well. At the time, probably no one foresaw that in just two decades, that practice would spawn a multibillion-peso industry.

Read on at pcij.org.

This entry was posted on Monday, January 9th, 2006 and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

6 people have left comments

First if was the parcel post, but it is only limited to 22 lbs. and a bit expensive. it was in early 80’s when surface door to door services started popping up. no weight limit, just about everything you can stuff on a standard door to door box. I recalled my sister telling me she has never bought local groceries stuff for since the door to door service started (coffee, toothpaste and the like) for they are getting both sides of the family. It is something the children look forward especially during Christmas time and birthdays.

The writer is right. For the children it is mostly the stuff they can use and brag around, specially an new nike or adidas or a jersey, but for us adults it is mostly keeping the connection and helping out. Last month my sister and her family moved to the states and was able to leave most of the durable stuff we sent to charity and the rest -next to nothing garage sale.

Regarding that door-to-door scandal that involved the service here, that was the same “modus operandi” as the other one. There were two such scandals, but overall the door-to-door service offer the cheapest, reliable alternative to the expensive couriers.

Caveat though, no illegal stuff like firearms or ammunitions or gun powder, or anything that may explode or cause fire.

naykika wrote on January 9, 2006 - 9:00 pm | Visit Link

Hong Kong is another source of balikbayan boxes. On Sundays, many domestic helpers take the opportunity to pack boxes - sometimes on the sidewalk - with Made-in-China bedsheets, towels, clothing and rip-offs of LV, Gucci & Prada bags, among other things. They might even pack cans of Spam — if they’d only look at the label, they’d see that the luncheon meat is made in the Philippines.
Unlike Stateside boxes, the HK boxes are filled with items accumulated and hoarded over the year. DHs are great at shopping at 70%-off sales, sniffing out bargains at outlet shops, and using coupons that their employers discard to use for promotional products and special offers.
As Kyusi Kids transported to HK, we send boxes to relatives home quarterly. We’re seriously considering doing it more often; after all, prices here are fair, stable and VAT-free.

batang_kyusi wrote on January 10, 2006 - 3:53 pm | Visit Link

I once asked some Pinoys here in Calilfornia why they send boxes of spam, sauges, noddles, even rice, can goods etc to the Philippines. Why not just send money? I asked. The reply was that pag padala ka ng pera bago ibili ng pagkain, ipangtataya muna ng jueteng o ilaro ng tong-its. Or pangtaya ng sabong ni Mister.

CGBacani wrote on January 17, 2006 - 2:14 am | Visit Link

packing and sending stuff in a balikbayan box gives the sender a personnal touch to giving. lahat na laman ng balikbayan boxes ay may appropriate labels and names ng intended recipient..its a personnal connect to love ones left behind that sending money can’t produce…

Gurong Bayan wrote on January 17, 2006 - 1:36 pm | Visit Link

[...] some more information about Balikbayan Boxes check out The Daily PCIJ post, an NPR report and a Washington Post [...]

Balikbayan Box « Insomnic Dreams wrote on October 16, 2008 - 12:19 am | Visit Link

ganyan kami d2…ang unang sahod na matitipid…ay iniisip na agad namin kung anong item ang pwedeng mabili sa ebay o sa amazon…pag kapos, manghihiram o kaya intay ulit ng next pay day…pag dumating na ang item…i-shoot na agad sa balikbayan box na kinukuha pa namin sa agency ng padalahan….kailangan…dapat mapuno mo na ang box mo bago magkatapusan ng September…para umabot sa pasko yung balikbayan boxes na pinapadala namin sa Pilipinas….hahaha…ang saya…syempre every month padala ka pa ng dolyar…talaga ang matitira lang…ay pambayad sa bahay, tubig, kuryente, pambili ng heineken, at Benson&Hedges…

nosi balasi wrote on October 17, 2008 - 10:59 am | Visit Link