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Filipino Expatriates in Dubai Rush to Send Balikbayan Boxes Home for Christmas

With just 50 days left until Christmas, Filipinos living in Dubai are busy preparing balikbayan boxes filled with gifts to be sent to their families and friends back home. A balikbayan box is a cargo box shipped by freight forwarders, but for kabayan expatriates, it holds much more significance. The box symbolizes their connection with loved ones, especially during the holiday season.

James, a long-time Dubai resident, explained that the balikbayan box contains special-request gifts for his family and friends. However, filling up the box takes time and depends on the budget of the migrant Filipino. James has spent nearly a month filling a jumbo gift box and worries that it may not arrive before December 25th.

According to Allan Michael Bautista, chairman of the Philippine Business Council League of Freight Forwarders and senior marketing manager at LBC Express, the optimal time to send a balikbayan box is no later than mid-October. It takes around 45-50 days for boxes to reach the Philippine capital or the wider Metro Manila area via sea freight. Boxes bound for provinces in Northern and Southern Luzon require an extra week of waiting, while those going to Visayas and Mindanao can take up to 65 days. Air freight is a faster option, but it is expensive and comes with many restrictions.

The ‘ber-months’ are a busy time for freight forwarders based in the UAE. Bautista revealed that his company alone expects to dispatch over 50,000 balikbayan boxes from the UAE to the Philippines in the last quarter of 2023. MyCargo, a new entrant in the cargo shipping industry, also anticipates sending hundreds of balikbayan boxes to the Philippines in the last two months of the year.

Roy F. Silvano, MyCargo manager – Philippine sector to the UAE, explained that for Filipino expatriates, the countdown to Christmas begins when they assemble the balikbayan box and start purchasing the items to be included. Each item is carefully chosen and tailored to the tastes and needs of their loved ones back home. John Michael P. Avelino, head of digital marketing at MyCargo, emphasized that the balikbayan box is always filled with thoughtfully chosen items, including clothing, gadgets, toys, and treats, meant to bring joy and gratitude to families in the Philippines.

As the deadline for sending balikbayan boxes approaches, Filipino residents in Dubai, like Leah, eagerly hope that their boxes will arrive on time for Christmas or even before New Year’s Eve. Leah shared that her family gathers around the balikbayan box on Christmas Day to distribute the gifts she has chosen for them. She emphasized that the box serves as a tangible connection, erasing the difference in distance and time, and allowing her to see the joy in her family’s faces as they receive her gifts sent with love and care.

The tradition of sending balikbayan boxes is deeply cherished by Filipinos abroad, as it allows them to express their love and thoughtfulness to their families back home during the holiday season.