MANILA, Philippines—Fresh off the plane from Riyadh, balikbayan friends Donna Hizon and Aileen Rejano each picked up packs of Cadbury and assorted Mars products after some currency conversion, choosing what has been familiar fare in homecomings past.

“This is what I buy even back here, when I go to Clark. I'm sure they will not sell them if it's not safe,” said nurse Hizon, among several balikbayans that flocked at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1's duty-free counter Tuesday afternoon.

“I always buy chocolates whenever I come home,” said three-time returnee Rejano, rushing to baggage claim with her several carry-ons after a quick pasalubong stop.

Despite concerns that tainted milk from China may have found its way into some of the world’s the world's favorite sweets -- especially those manufactured in China -- chocolates remain the top pasalubong among returning overseas Filipino workers, NAIA duty-free store officers told the Inquirer.

Six brands of chocolates sourced from the United States, Switzerland and Australia, including Cadbury and Mars products (M&Ms and Snickers among them), make sales of between 1,800 and 1,900 bags on an average day at the arrival duty-free shop alone, said store manager Norissa Enriquez.

The treat packs, each priced at US$30 to US$33 (P1,400 to P1,500), have been the best-selling pasalubong items for years, edging out cigarettes and liquor in sales.

China-made packs of the same brands are being pulled out of store shelves in Hong Kong and tested for safety in other countries amid a global scare of Chinese milk tainted with the industrial chemical melamine.

“We don't have China-made chocolates. We never get chocolates from China,” said store supervisor Edwin Clemente.

He had encountered some inquiries among locals, most of them Filipino business travelers “who are updated with current events,” but the China scare has not affected chocolate sales.

“Some frequent travelers asked us where the chocolates are made, but we told them none of our chocolates came from China,” Clemente said.

Seemingly unbothered though are returning Filipino migrant workers, who have been accustomed to the well-loved take-home.

“The OFWs never ask us with regards to that [where chocolates were made]. They're used to buying bags of chocolates and they'd spend $100 each purchase to take home three packs,” Enriquez said.

“They know that the ones sold here are of very high standards compared to those sold outside, those from local distributors,” she added.