{"id":6720,"date":"2026-05-15T19:01:45","date_gmt":"2026-05-15T19:01:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=6720"},"modified":"2026-05-15T19:01:45","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T19:01:45","slug":"the-balikbayan-box-the-way-filipino-americans-have-sent-love-all-the-way-back-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=6720","title":{"rendered":"The balikbayan box: The way Filipino Americans have sent love all the way back home"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

By TERRY TANG<\/strong><\/p>\n

PHOENIX (AP) \u2014 Beginning in the 1970s, just about every Filipino household in America was either hauling balikbayan boxes in person or mailing them to relatives back in the Philippines.<\/p>\n

Read more California unveils a $1 billion rebate program for electric trucks<\/a><\/p>\n

These care packages that held goodies from the U.S. were seen as an expression of support during hard economic times \u2014 as well as one of pure love.<\/p>\n

\u201cBalik\u201d and \u201cbayan,\u201d Tagalog for \u201creturn\u201d and \u201chomeland,\u201d respectively, was what President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. called the tourism initiatives he established in 1973. After declaring martial law a year earlier, he wanted to compel Filipino immigrants to come back and visit and further \u201clegitimize his new dictatorial regime,\u201d says Adrian De Leon, an assistant professor of history at New York University and author of \u201cBalikbayan: A Revenant History of the Filipino Homeland.\u201d<\/p>\n

The balikbayan program proved \u201cincredibly profitable\u201d for the government as middle-class Filipino Americans came and spent capital.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe dollar stretches way more,\u201d De Leon says. \u201cBulk buying becomes a way through which overseas Filipinos are incentivized to maintain an economic connection to their homeland so that the government can take cuts from it and use it for like everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

The practice of shipping balikbayan boxes grew from there. Initially, canned meat like Spam was a staple of these boxes. Over time, small luxuries like skin-care products, clothes and candy became sought after, too. Then American entertainment like music cassettes and movies on Betamax were tossed in.<\/p>\n

Read more Tech CEOs summoned to Congress for another hearing on social media\u2019s risks for children<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat might have been letters being sent back home, now with the balikbayan box, you\u2019re sending back American pop culture,\u201d De Leon says. \u201cFilipinos are doing the work of American soft power for Filipinos at home.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Sending balikbayan boxes has thrived as its own industry. There are a handful of shipping companies in the U.S. that market door-to-door delivery to the Philippines. Filipino immigrants visiting the country get quicker entry at Manila\u2019s Ninoy Aquino International Airport through a designated \u201cbalikbayan lane.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jamming as many gifts as possible into a balikbayan box remains culturally ingrained in the Filipino diaspora. Filipino American comedian Rex Navarrete has typically made it a stand-up bit, advising: \u201cOne thing you should never pack in a balikbayan box is air.\u201d<\/p>\n

Part of a recurring series, \u201cAmerican Objects,\u201d marking the 250th anniversary of the United States. For more American objects, click here. For more stories on the anniversary, click here.<\/em><\/p>\n

Read more Pentagon halts deployments to Poland and Germany to cut troop numbers in Europe, AP sources say<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Learn how Filipino Americans send care packages, fostering economic ties and sharing culture.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6719,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6720","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-facts","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nThe balikbayan box: The way Filipino Americans have sent love all the way back home - Silicon Valley Moving Post<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=6720\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The balikbayan box: The way Filipino Americans have sent love all the way back home - 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