Update: Check out “The Great Book Blockade of 2009: Timeline and Readings” here.
I saw UP Law Dean Marvic Leonen at a meeting in school today and we talked a bit about the book blockade and my nasty encounter with the neighborhood post office’s Customs Director and crew. Turns out he had the same experience at the same post office, also over an Amazon purchase. But of course, being a lawyer, he had all the conviction and knowledge I didn’t have in the same situation, which is why he didn’t shell out a cent for taxes to claim his books. Apparently, what I thought was a proper albeit painfully expensive and overall infuriating transaction, official receipt and all, was a well-orchestrated rip-off.
Let me spell it out for us book lovers to bask in: you do NOT have to pay taxes to claim your book purchases/packages at the post office. Books are tax-exempt. Marvic Leonen is interested in filing a case to put an end to this kind of fiasco and has asked me to dig up my old receipt to get the case going. I have spent the last hour or so trying to find the receipt, to no avail. I am usually very good at filing even the most irrelevant documents, and so I am starting to get that sinking feeling that I must’ve thrown it away. I’ll keep on looking for it, but in any case, if you’ve had a similar experience–paying taxes for books at the post office–and you still have the receipt, please get in touch with me at chingbee(dot)cruz(at)gmail(dot)com. I’d like to collect as many receipts of this kind as possible and turn them all over to Marvic.
For more on the book blockade, you can go here.
The Curious Couch 
First of all, this comment should probably go on the previous post, but what the hey. Anyway, this entire situation is unbelievable. This is the first time I’ve heard of the book blockade, and your personal ordeal (and I’m sure it was), is so infuriating.
With your permission, I’d like to link to this on Facebook and the other various places I frequent.
Hey there, Francis, and sure, link away!
Hi there! Thanks for all your work spreading the news about the book importation issue. I hope you don’t mind if I link to your posts over at Bahay Talinhaga.
As an aside, my wife went to UP Law and she went through the baptism of fire that was Professor Leonen, for whom she has the highest respect, so I think she’ll be thrilled to hear he might get involved ^_^
– Paolo
Hi m’am Chingbee! This sounds like great news. Can we link it over? Our org (UP Hobby Gamers’ Circle) is trying to build a resource on the Book Blockade issue, so may we link this post and the previous one (Going Postal)? We want to build a site with a good series of introductory links to the Great Book Blockade.
The site is at http://www.squidoo.com/philippine-book-blockade, and if you know anyone new to the issue, please feel free to link them over, as we want to create a beginner friendly resource with links to the best and breaking news and articles on the issue.
Phil Corpuz/phelanw0lf
Hello BT and Phil, go ahead and link away! And please do get in touch if you have receipts we can use.
While receipts are useful, they can be dispelled as isolated instances of human error; Customs will wash their hands by passing the buck to postal clerks’ misinterpretation of policies. For a more compelling proof of how Customs systematically mulcts us, please suggest that Mr. Leonen subpoena DHL’s archives of delivery manifests. In the absence of tangible paper trails, their electronic data archives should show that each book imported and delivered by DHL was taxed–and that this has been going on for years.
Noted. Thanks for pointing this out.
Hi! Does this include the PhP35.00 fee for claiming packages?
My understanding is you pay the handling fee (if that’s what the P35 is for).
Hi! I was wondering if you and Dean Leonen are still on the trail of this case? I’d like to ask you some questions if I may. I just received a book shipment from the states and as expected, they’re asking me to pay taxes for my books. And a pretty hefty price at that. So I’m kind of wondering if there’s still anything I can do to waive this fee. Thanks!
@June,
Carrying a printout of the PIA press release might help. The fact that it’s from an official government agency might help.
http://www.pia.gov.ph/?m=12&fi=p090526.htm&no=09
According to the NBDB (last time I checked, at least), this is what you need to do to avail of the exemption. I got a total of, hmm, one or two receipts I think in response to the receipt drive (the non-reaction to the call was pretty staggering, haha, so I forget). I’ll turn them over to Marvic Leonen as soon as I’m done putting a few other things in order.