Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — After suffering backlash over her comments on the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) protests, Sen. Grace Poe was back in fighting form on Thursday (September 3).
Working on her birthday, Poe was busy in the Senate doing her usual routine as a lawmaker.
In a senate inquiry, the senators tackled the issue of balikbayan boxes and the proposed Customs Modernization and Tariff Act.
Customs chief Alberto Lina and other officials from the Bureau of Customs (BoC) were there to answer the legislators’ queries on his order to open Overseas Filipino Workers’ (OFW) balikbayan boxes as part of the government’s efforts to curb smuggling.
Poe questioned Lina on how much the BoC loses on boxes not inspected. Lina said they lose between P3 billion to P5 billion.
The senator reminded the BoC commissioner that OFWs remit billions of dollars each year. She also told Lina that the BoC should also not forget the rights of OFWs who remit about $47 billion each year according to Sen. Cynthia Villar.
Lina triggered an uproar among OFWs after the BoC announced the random inspection of balikbayan boxes. After President Benigno Aquino III’s directive not to do so, the department switched to mandatory x-ray examinations of containers.
According to Lina, they held a dry run and the x-ray was able to handle it.
After the hearing, Poe went to a national commuter’s forum. She called for the creation of a National Transportation Safety Board that will investigate accidents and make recommendations to improve the country’s transportation system, whether on land, air or sea.
She also cited the daily difficulty experienced by the commuting public due to heavy traffic, poor facilities and lack of safety standards for commuters and motorists.
Birthday greetings from Roxas, Binay
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