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What you can and cannot send: a friendly guide to Philippine customs
No legal jargon. Just a clear list of what is fine, what needs care, and what will get your box held at the port.
EGEcoBox Go Customs DeskManila · July 29, 2026 · 4 min read
Balikbayan boxes enjoy a duty-free allowance for personal and household items, as long as they are not for resale. Here is what that means in practice.
Always fine
- Clothes, shoes and bags for the family
- Canned and packaged food, coffee, chocolates
- Toiletries and cosmetics in normal quantities
- Toys, school supplies, books
Send with care
- Small electronics: one or two per box, in original packaging if possible
- Vitamins and over-the-counter medicine in sealed packs
- Perfume: two or three bottles, well wrapped
Please do not send
- Cash, gold, jewellery or valuables
- Prescription medicine without documents
- Firearms, knives, flammables, aerosols
- Commercial quantities of anything (twelve identical phones will be questioned)
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