How to Send balikbayan box to the Philippines

Sending balikbayan box household items, food, and clothing to loved ones in the Philippines can sometimes be challenging since it may or may not be available in your area or the country you are in.

If you are sending balikbayan boxes to the Philippines, this is an important information. There are balikbayan companies who have been blacklisted by the Philippine Shipper’s Bureau - DTI because of undelivered boxes and other violations. To learn more of the list (as of Oct 25, 2012)  in your respective countries, click here. 

This has long been a tradition for Filipinos who live outside the Philippines. If you just married a Filipino or Filipina, don’t be surprised that they fill these boxes and send it home to their families. It is a Filipino tradition that whenever someone in the family is better off, they would share their wealth however big or small it may be. It’s just one of those things and it is a tradition. You just have to understand it.



So how do you get these balikbayan (buh-lik-buh-yun) boxes? Most major cities with major Filipino populations have these services. You can either find a balikbayan cargo box agent, Filipino store, Filipino restaurant who resells these services. You either buy the box and then once you are ready to send it, they deduct the amount of the box to the shipping cost. Most of the time the balikbayan cargo dealers give it for free as long as you send the box through their company.

You can also buy a box from one or any balikbayan box dealer or forwarder and send it through another balikbayan cargo dealer. Most of them will accept the box as long as it’s the same dimensions. What does it look like? Here’s some of them:

Contents can look this way packed:

Talking about the dimensions of the box, you cannot just purchase a box from Walmart, Officemax, or any department store. You can buy it a packing company or store as long as it has the same dimensions as what is required. They will not take it if it’s out of dimensions unless you have prior arrangements with them. Balikbayan cargo dealers have their own dimensions for the box because they pack the 20 or 40-foot container the way they like in a certain way.

So what goes in the balikbayan box? Per the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry, these are the items that DO NOT go in the boxes:

1. AAA Cargo Express Inc.
2. ABS-CBN Star Kargo
3. Aerosend
4. Alas Cargo
5. Associated Consolidations Express (ACE Cargo)
6. FRS Philippine Freight Services, Inc.
7. Shipping Express
8. South Atlantic Cargo

• Declare your shipment by accomplishing a detailed packing list stating all the contents of your box and value of shipment, per item if possible, as well as your preferred shipping date. Ask for proper (or extraordinary, if needed) packing, wrapping, strapping, sealing and labeling of your box.