SENATOR Ferdinand Marcos Jr. urged on Wednesday Bureau of Customs (BOC) chief Alberto Lina to publicly apologize to overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) due to the random inspection of balikbayan boxes that the agency had enforced.
Marcos said the agency's inspection has put at risk the reputation and image of the Filipino migrant workers, whom he called the "modern-day heroes."
The senator said a public apology was the least that the BOC can do to finally ease the anxieties and anger of millions of OFWs.
"A public apology is necessary to correct whatever adverse impression the balikbayan controversy had made on the positive image of our workers overseas. I am sure Commissioner Lina would understand the need to correct such misimpression because the jobs and collective image of our workers may be at stake," said Marcos.
"This apology must be made of public record so that the foreign employers and host governments would know that OFWs were never the real targets of the BOC's anti-smuggling drive," he added.
The BOC said the random checks on balikbayan boxes target the erring freight forwarding companies that have allowed or are complicit in inserting illegal items like drugs and firearms into consolidated shipments.
President Benigno Aquino III ordered Monday the BOC to stop its random inspection of the balikbayan boxes but Marcos said it was not enough that the random inspection was stopped through a presidential directive.
"The presidential directive must find its way into an official document and in the crafting of such document, the OFW sector deserves to be heard. As I’ve said earlier, no reforms can take place without the cooperation and support of key stakeholders," Marcos said. (Sunnex)