TWO COLUMNS ago, we wrote about a Philippine-based forwarding company with international operations, especially in countries where large Filipino communities exist. The issue we took up is the apparent delay in the arrival of boxes shipped to our family by a sister-in-law who is residing in Greensboro, Alabama.
In 2024, her family sent us three big boxes in early August of that year. The shipment arrived two days before Christmas. Last year, to make sure that the boxes arrive several weeks before Christmas, as most of the contents are Christmas presents to relatives, our sister-in-law and her husband sent the boxes last July.
Using the company’s tracking mechanism, we inquired about the ship carrying the boxes’ whereabouts. It was Nov. 23, 2025. We were told that the boat was already in Singapore discharging some of its cargoes. We were told further that the vessel was to sail for Manila as its next destination and it was expected to be in the port by early in the early first week of December last year.
When we asked our son to trace it again, he was told that the shipment for the Philippines was undergoing Customs inspection and the boxes would be picked up from the port and brought to the forwarding company’s warehouse in Manila.
Toward the end of the second week of December last year, we were told that the cargoes bound for Davao were on the way on board a local vessel. The third week of December, and then Christmas came, and still no shipment for our family arrived.
On Dec. 30, the husband of our sister-in-law called to inquire if the boxes had already been delivered. We had to tell him there were no boxes delivered yet. While we were unable to see his frustration expressed on his face, we were certain that our brother-in-law might have cursed the forwarding firm in silence.
On the part of our family, we were still hoping that the expected boxes could be delivered within the last two days of 2025. But there was no delivery by the forwarding company. So we were not able to fulfill our promise to our sister-in-law’s husband that we would call him as soon as we received the boxes.
Sadly, in the morning of Dec. 31 – that was the evening of Dec. 30 in Alabama – our family received a tragic chat from the daughter of our sister-in-law. She informed us that her dad died of cardiac arrest while driving home with his wife from his daughter’s house.
In a later video call our wife had with her just-widowed sister she (our wife) was told that shortly before leaving their daughter’s house her husband told her to call us to find out whether the boxes arrive in time for the New Year’s eve as he believes the receipt of the gifts thereat would be more meaningful if the arrival jibes with the New Year’s celebration.
Unfortunately, while on the way home, our brother-in-law died without knowing that the supposedly world-renowned logistics company failed to make its commitment to “move” the cargoes.
***********************************
The family of the late Tres de Mayo, Digos City Barangay Captain Oscar “Dodong” Bucol, must be all-out in finding and bringing to justice the mastermind and killer/s of the barangay official.
Imagine the family has mobilized a total of P5.5 million and a piece of land to be given as a reward to the one who can help capture the culprits.
We are certain that many have knowledge of the identities of the mastermind and actual assassins. The problem is whether or not they will trade the safety of their lives for the multi-million-peso booty.
So the likelihood is that those who know the killers would rather ignore the money and instead prefer to keep their mouths shut.
***************************
It was literally a fiery first two days of the year 2026. Imagine two fire incidents were reported to have occurred in Davao City in just a matter of 24 hours. It happened along Leon Ma. Guerrero St. and another in the vicinity of the area in Buhangin, once occupied by the Milan store.
Good thing that the fires that hit the residence of a senior citizen, and a business establishment in the case of the Buhangin incident, did not result in the loss of lives or injuries. At least the New Year’s first two days were merely fiery and not deadly.
*************************
Now we are wishing all our relatives and friends a Very Prosperous New Year. And we hope as well that there will be no major cataclysmic incidents during the rest of the year.
