SENDING the clear message that smuggling, particularly of luxury vehicles, is not worth the risk, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) on Friday, June 18, 2021, again destroyed a total of 21 smuggled vehicles with an aggregate value of nearly P60 million.
The destruction of the vehicles, among them a brand new ‘McLaren 620R’ worth more than P16 million, was personally led by Comm. Rey Leonardo Guerrero, Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) chair, Greco Belgica, representatives from the Department of Finance and the Commission on Audit, with other customs officials and members of the press as witnesses.
In Manila, 7 luxury vehicles, earlier confiscated at the Port of Manila (POM), Manila International Container Port (MICP) and the Port of Subic (PoS), where destroyed near the entrance gate (Gate 3) of the POM.
These consisted of, one brand new McLaren 620R, one used Hyundai Genesis apprehended at the POM; one used Bentley 2007, one used Porsche 911 C2S, and, one used Mercedes-Benz seized at the MICP. Also destroyed was one-unit Lotus and one unit Toyota Solara from the Port of Subic.
Simultaneous with the destruction in Manila, 14 ‘knocked-down’ used ‘Mitsubishi Jeeps’ seized by the Port of Cagayan de Oro were destroyed simultaneously at the ‘Diamond Logistic’ in Baloy, Brgy. Tablon, Cagayan de Oro.
A statement released afterwards by the BOC said the vehicles were shipped into the country by different consignees and seized on separate occasions from 2018 to 2020.
The condemnation of the vehicles is pursuant to Presidential Directive 2017-447, in which President Duterte reiterated the need to destroy smuggled vehicles to send the strong message that the government is serious in its efforts against smuggling.
It would be the second condemnation activity of the BOC for the year, involving various smuggled vehicles, following the simultaneous destruction of 17 more luxury vehicles last February 9, 2021, on the occasion of the bureau’s 119th anniversary, with finance secretary Carlos Dominguez as main witness and guest speaker during the occasion.
More fake goods seized
A day earlier, deputy commissioner for intelligence, Raniel Ramiro, announced another successful anti-smuggling operation spearheaded by his office that resulted to the confiscation of more than P1 billion worth of fake consumer products.
Armed with a ‘LOA’ (Letter of Authority) signed by Guerrero, Ramiro said a composite team from the bureau’s various units and from the IG’s ‘Intellectual Property Rights Division’ (IG-IPRD), together with elements from the Armed Forces (AFP), swooped down at a “storage facility” in Magallanes, Makati City where the bogus consumer goods were found.
Ramiro said among the trademarked items they found were Lacoste, Michael Kors, Macbeth, Adidas, Chanel, Givenchy, Oxygen, Guess, Coach, Gucci, Wrangler, Fubu, Zara, Reebok, Levi’s, Hilfiger, Jag, Tribal, Bench, Calvin Klein and, Esprit.
The raid was the second billion-peso apprehension of fake items by the BOC-IG this year, after its raid last June 3,l 2021, in Baclaran, Parañaque City, resulted to the confiscation of fake consumer items worth more than P2 billion.
This type of operation by the bureau has already earned plaudits from international companies.
Last June 14, 2021, French fashion house, Louis Vuitton Malletier, commonly known as Louis Vuitton or by its initials LV the world over, conferred its ‘Plaque of Appreciation’ to the BOC for its unrelenting drive against counterfeit products.
The honor was personally received by Guerrero at a simple ceremony held at his office.