Wednesday, November 28, 2007 House to investigate smuggling of vehicles
A HOUSE inquiry on the alleged rampant car smuggling in Central Visayas is underway after the House committee on rules endorsed the conduct of an investigation on the illegal activity.
Cebu’s eight legislators filed House Resolution No. 320 yesterday afternoon, which directed the committee on good government, committee on transportation and the committee and ways and means to conduct an inquiry in aid of legislation.
The legislators called for an investigation after noting a “huge discrepancy” in the number of new vehicle registrations filed at the Land Transportation Office (LTO) and the number of vehicles actually sold by legitimate vehicle manufacturers.
In Central Visayas, the number of new registrations in 2006 was 80 percent higher than the number of vehicles sold by legitimate car manufacturers.
Rep. Antonio Cuenco (Cebu City, south district) said they expect the investigation to be completed before legislators go on Christmas break.
Recommendations
The investigating committees were also asked to make recommendations to solve the problem on the alleged rampant smuggling of used and brand new vehicles in the region.
In the resolution, the legislators said the huge percentage of vehicles registered with the LTO in 2006 is an indication of the problem on car smuggling, which is prohibited under Executive Order No. 156.
While the automobile industry in the region has shown robust growth in the past years as indicated by registration figures, the latter does not match the actual number of vehicles sold by legitimate distributors, they said in their resolution.
“Based on the statistics, it appears that there is over registration of used vehicles in the LTO and therefore a conclusive proof of technical smuggling,” the proponents said.
Cuenco, Reps. Raul del Mar (Cebu City, north), Eduardo Gullas (1st), Pablo Garcia (2nd), Pablo John Garcia (3rd), Benhur Salimbangon (4th), Ramon Durano IV (5th) and Nerissa Soon-Ruiz (6th) filed the measure.
80% more
“In the light of the prohibition on the importation of used motor vehicles under Executive Order 156, it is imperative that an investigation be conducted in order to draft appropriate legislative measures that will end the rampant smuggling of motor vehicles in Cebu,” the resolution read.
According to records of the LTO, a total of 25,221 vehicles were registered in Central Visayas in 2006, or 80 percent more than the 5,060 vehicles sold based on the 2006 sales records of Car Assemblers and Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (Campi).
The discrepancy in the figures of both agencies is higher in Central Visayas than in the National Capital Region (NCR), where a difference of only 10 percent was recorded.
There were 76,590 new registrations in the NCR in 2006, but only 68,845 vehicles were sold by manufacturers, according to Campi. (LCR)
