Balikbayan

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Balikbayan

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Balikbayan, a Filipino word, which refers exclusively to overseas Filipinos. "Balikbayan" often refers to (often wealthier) Filipinos who reside overseas and visit the Philippines periodically, even for extended stays, whereas "kababayan", when applied to overseas Filipinos, means ones that live in the Philippines but are overseas temporarily, even for years.


Balikbayan box

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A balikbayan box (Filipino luggage) is a ubiquitous corrugated box containing any number of small items and sent by an overseas Filipino known as a "balikbayan". Though often shipped by freight forwarders specializing in balikbayan boxes by sea, such boxes can be brought by Filipinos returning to the Philippines by air.

These boxes might contain nearly anything that can fit and that the sender thinks the recipient would like, regardless of whether those items can be bought cheaply in the Philippines, such as non-perishable food, toiletries, household items, electronics, toys, designer clothing, or items hard to find in the Philippines.

A balikbayan box intended for air travel is designed to conform to airline luggage restrictions and many Filipino stores carry them. Some boxes come with a cloth cover and side handles. Others are tightly secured with tape or rope, and thus not confused with an ordinary moving box more lightly wrapped.

Shipped boxes are delivered directly to the recipient, nearly always the family of the overseas Filipino.

Part of the attraction of the balikbayan box is economic. If the items were sent individually or in smaller boxes through postal services, the cost could be significant. The tradeoff is a long transit time by container ships, typically taking several weeks, and the lack of a solid delivery date.

Another part of the attraction is the cultural expectation that returning travelers will bring gifts to family, friends and colleagues left behind in the Philippines. In this way, it is related to the practice of "pasalubong".

Balikbayan box started with the law enacted by former Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos during the 1980s during the resurgence of Filipinos working overseas. The Philippine Bureau of Customs Circular allowed the entry of personal goods to the Philippines from Filipinos overseas, tax free. This was done by asking friends and co-workers who were coming home to the Philippines to bring gifts with them.

The balikbayan box business started in 1981 in New York by Mr. Monet Ungco, who founded Port Jersey Shipping. Two months later, Mr. Rico Nunga was working in a shipping company and started REN International based on Mr. Monet's idea.

Balikbayan Box shipping has evolved and in 1989, Manny Paez of Manila Forwarder offered a bigger balikbayan box and coined it jumbo box. After Typhoon Ketsana (Ondoy) hit the Philippines, Manila Forwarder introduced a re-usable shipping container called Bianca and Roland Shipping drums.

Padala

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Padala is a word from the Tagalog language which means "consignment" or "the thing consigned". The word also has become a cultural concept, a tradition and a state of mind of Filipinos leaving their native country to work in foreign lands as Overseas Foreign Workers (OFWs) in order to "send something" back home. These workers send things to their families back home in the form of padala; either money or material goods utilizing balikbayan boxes. Padala has developed into a way of life that is actually an increasingly extensive network of formal and informal money remitters or cargo forwarders that comprise the padala system. In 2001, the Philippines ranked 3rd world-wide after India and Mexico among the top ten monetary remittance recipient countries. In 2006, the Philippines received over $12 billion dollars in remittances from overseas Filipinos worldwide.





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