Ethics of Privacy and Respect for Other People's Property

I always teach my kids to ask permission before they touch other people's stuff. That is a basic value people learn early in life. So, one wonders if it is morally right for the BOC employees to check the stuff sent by nurses and doctors to their families and friends? 

Can I open this?

The Philippines is one of the top exporter of nurses and doctors around the world next to India based on the IBON data for 2014. The healthcare workers form the largest chunk of OFWs. They work abroad to provide for their families, families that they do not see often. Despite being physically away, these OFWs show their love and care to their family members with the gifts of love they send to them through balik-bayan boxes. As one popular courier tagline puts it "Ipadama mo sayong padala." Every balikbayan box sent is an expression of love from a lonely OFW healthcare worker.

The "expression of love" is ripped open by the Bureau of Customs employees before it even reaches the supposed recipient. Did the people in the Bureau of Customs ask permission from the OFW healthcare worker? Is it morally right to open other people's packages without their consent? Is it ethical to sort other people's property? Is it valid to rip open a "package of love" for suspecting something taxable inside? What happened to people's privacy? What happened to autonomy? What happened to respecting people's right?

Privacy is an ethical issue. Is it morally right to invade my privacy? Privacy is important for several reasons. Privacy is necessary to safeguard the freedom of individuals and groups. People have the right to keep private and personal matters from the public. If people have the right to privacy, it is morally wrong to violate that right. It is unethical to invade other's privacy and personal property. For the same reason, invasion of privacy is against the law. For example, when I go to the mall and the security guard wants to inspect my bag, the guard cannot just open my bag. That would be unethical. The guard would be violating my privacy. That is why, I would have to willingly open the zipper of my bag and allow the guard to take a peek and inspect what is inside. Only because I allowed the guard to check my bag was the guard able to do it. No invasion of privacy occurred.

The government is supposed to safeguard the people's right to privacy, not the one violating it.

However, we also know that privacy is not an absolute thing. We live in a society that requires us to share information to maintain order in our relationship with each other. Going back to our example, I cannot just refuse the guard to check my bag because of my right to privacy. If I do that, the guard can always refuse my entry into the mall. In the same way, the balik-bayan boxes need to have proper declaration from the OFWs sending them. It is the OFWs duty to honestly declare the contents of the package. We understand that the government needs some information from its citizen for it to be able to govern properly and execute their responsibilities well.

There should be a balance between the OFW's responsibility to share honest information and to the protection of it's right to privacy. One is not more important than the other. The government cannot also give lesser weight to either of the two. It would not only be unethical for the government staff to open packages without the owner's consent, the government would also be violating the people's human rights.

Let this not be another addition to the long list of human rights violation of the government to its people. How can I teach my kids to respect other people if they do not see their government respecting people too?