My fiance is currently stuck in Manila during the quarantine while we wait for K1 visas to start being processed again. Her mom wanted her to visit her family in Masbate but with domestic travel shut down that hasn't really been possible. I suggested we could come up with things to put into a care package for her family back in the province.
1) I'm not a filipino citizen so I'm not eligible for the tax-exemption. How does paying the taxes work? Will I just be contacted with a bill I can pay online and how much can I expect to pay? Also how should I estimate the value of snacks and used items on the forms?
2) What other kinds of things are appropriate to include? The banned item lists say that meat must be canned but I've also seen people recommend jerky. Are packages of dried jerky acceptable?
So far I've included:
-A handwritten letter
-A couple pictures of the two of us together for her mom
-Ample amount of Lindt chocolate that was on post-Easter sale
-A couple of stuffed animals for her 2 year old niece
-An Estwing carpentry hammer I've had for a few years that her dad (a carpenter) will get more use out of than I will
-spam and corned beef
-bulk package of M&Ms
-some dry BBQ spices from my hometown