Sunday, January 13, 2008 Cabaero: Cebu and pretty cars By Nini B. Cabaero Beyond 30
PRETTY cars always catch people’s attention.
When you see a luxury, obviously imported, car on a Cebu street, there is appreciation for a thing of beauty, followed by the cynical mind’s suspicion that it was smuggled into Cebu or that someone’s hands got greased along the way.
“Have the police or the LTO (Land Transportation Office) stopped you yet?” This was what one passerby asked a driver of a sleek Porsche. It was meant as a joke but there was a time indeed when drivers of such cars got stopped on the road by agents tasked to check at random such vehicles’ papers.
Years ago, car smuggling in Cebu was a problem that linked names of prominent individuals whenever there was talk over who owned a Jaguar, a top-of-the-line Mercedes Benz and other expensive-sounding car brands. That problem eventually went away or died down after several investigations and threats of prosecution.
Government personnel whose hands were greased in line with the importation or the under-declaration of the values of the vehicles were either transferred to offices outside Cebu or were forced to retire.
Car smuggling is starting to hog headlines again in Cebu and in national newspapers that name Cebu as the place where the vehicles originated. The name of a controversial noontime television show host has been linked to one car and names of politicians are slowly coming out as lovers of expensive cars.
The latest of the incidents was the discovery last Friday of 19 used luxury vehicles estimated at P16 million inside four container vans. These vehicles were a Mercedes Benz, several Mitsubishi Pajero units, Montero and a Hummer. Records from the Bureau of Customs showed these were declared as personal effects.
Owners of these “personal effects” still have time to produce papers to claim the cargo. If no claimant shows up, the shipment would be declared abandoned and would be forfeited in favor of the government.
One owner was said to be a returning resident who by law could bring used vehicles back to the country but with the proper import permit.
The vehicles were consigned to the names of Asean Mandaue Trading, the New Era Enterprises and a certain Aurora Rustia, a balikbayan.
This controversy comes at a time when thousands of visitors are here to celebrate Cebu’s biggest annual festival. It is a time when Cebu shines with its Sinulog spirit, but the car smuggling controversy is taking away some of the brightness and replacing it with dark clouds and unsure weather.
***
The Sinulog 2008 fever is on and proof of this is the arrival of thousands of visitors to join Cebu’s annual festival. In celebration of the Sinulog, the Sun.Star website has come up with a special online section.
News and other information, photos, video clips, the Sinulog beat and a message board where Cebuanos around the globe can post greetings to relatives here, are available on this online special. Go to the Sun.Star website at www.sunstar.com.ph and click on the Sinulog icon or the text links.
