Philippines President Bulldozes Luxury Cars To Send Message To Smugglers

Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte ordered the destruction of dozens of luxury cars and filmed bulldozers as they flattened the lot to send out a clear message on his new car smuggling policy.

Vehicles worth a combined 61.6 million pesos (US$1.2 million) were scrapped in Manila and two other cities on Duterte’s orders

LOOK: Smuggled luxury cars worth P61 million destroyed at the Port of Manila @ABSCBNNews pic.twitter.com/xYLSvMfXdb

— Dharel Placido (@dgplacido) February 6, 2018

He said that disposing of them at an auction would only give the smugglers an opportunity to buy back their cars using fake consignees.

RT reports: Some 29 smuggled high-end vehicles, including models of BMW, Jaguar, Mercedes Benz and Corvette, were simultaneously crushed by road rollers at three of the country’s ports on Tuesday.

The majority of cars were destroyed at the Bureau of Customs (BOC) grounds in Manila where Duterte was present for the ceremonial condemnation. Tuesday also marks the celebration of the116th founding anniversary of the Bureau of Customs.

Seven more vehicles were bulldozed in Davao City and three in Cebu.The cars were worth at least US$1.19 million in total.

The dramatic wrecking sends a clear message to smugglers by demonstrating Duterte’s determination to crack down on unscrupulous vehicle importers.

“You want imported cars? Pay import duties first,” Duterte said last week, announcing the new strategy.“It will now become policy to bulldoze smuggled luxury vehicles,” a presidential spokesman confirmed.

The new practice marks a clear departure from the usual procedure of auctioning smuggled vehicles to generate additional revenue for the government. Duterte said that disposing of the confiscated cars at an auction would only give the smugglers an opportunity to secure them legally.