Press Release
February 8, 2018

Koko calls for review of policy on destruction of smuggled luxury cars

Senate President Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III on Thursday asked the Bureau of Customs (BOC) to consider courses of action other than destroying smuggled luxury cars.

Pimentel raised the question as about 30 luxury cars were destroyed on Tuesday during the 166th Founding Anniversary celebrations of BOC.

"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. In the manufacture of these luxury cars a lot of energy has been expended, which I am sure has contributed to over-all global warming. 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", said Pimentel.

The Senate President said he is aware of the reason why the cars were destroyed.

Pimentel said, "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."

The ceremony, led by President Rodrigo Duterte, has drawn mixed reviews on social media.

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