Koko on smuggled luxury cars: Auction them

In compliance with the directive of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, the Bureau of Customs destructed thru condemnation 20 luxury cars worth P61.6 million which include used Lexus, BMW, Mercedes Benz, Audi, Jaguar, and Corvette Stingray as part of the BOC 116th Founding Anniversary. President Rodrigo Roa Duterte witnessed the condemnation on Tuesday, February 6, 2018. (Photo: Bureau of Customs PH/Facebook)

Senate President Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III on Thursday asked the Bureau of Customs (BOC) to consider other courses of action on illegally imported cars.

Instead of destroying smuggled luxury cars, the Senator’s proposed to sell them at public action for serious car collectors.

Pimentel stressed that manufacturing luxury cars expended massive energy that contributed to overall global warming. He added that unlike cigarettes or drugs, luxury cars have economic value and great value to serious car collectors.

“Unlike cigarettes or drugs, which have no good intrinsic value to humans and which must be destroyed when confiscated, cars and other manufactured items have economic value, and luxury cars particularly have great value to serious car collectors,” Pimentel said.

“In the manufacture of these luxury cars a lot of energy has been expended, which I am sure has contributed to overall global warming,” Pimentel added.

President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday, February 6, during the 166th founding anniversary of BOC, led the destruction of P61.6 million worth of 30 smuggled luxury cars as he vows to hold a crackdown against unscrupulous vehicle importers during the 166th founding anniversary of the Bureau of Customs (BOC).

Among the cars destroyed were Pajero, BMW, Jaguar, Audi, Mercedes, Ford Explorer, Corvette Stingray, and Lexus.

The President has earlier said that he would no longer allow the smuggled luxury cars to be auctioned, instead he wants all of them destroyed.

“Let us not waste the energy, resources, and intellectual effort consumed in the making of these luxury cars. Hence my proposal is to sell them at public auction but open only to serious car collectors based abroad. The proceeds can be used to help calamity victims,” Pimentel said.

He added that the earned cost could be used for “worthwhile causes” such as helping victims of natural calamities.

“We don’t want them to be auctioned, only for those who smuggled them in, to benefit. But if we sell them to buyers abroad, then we would have achieved the same objective and earned money for the government for use in worthwhile causes like helping victims of natural calamities,” he said.