Sunday, March 02, 2008 Trade in smuggled used cars to hurt Pinoys, Ford exec says By Liberty A. Pinili Of Sun.Star Cebu
WHILE it commends recent efforts by authorities to curb vehicle smuggling, an executive of an automobile company yesterday said the Philippine Government needs to step up the enforcement of laws against illegal importation of used vehicles.
Ford Philippines president Richard Baker said buying smuggled vehicles deprives the country of much-needed revenue.
Baker, in a press conference in Cebu City, said the potential revenues lost are in billions of pesos for taxes alone.
“The government has a long way to go (in terms of curbing smuggling). While Ford commends the government’s recent efforts, we want to see more apprehensions… those responsible for making this (smuggling of cars) happen should be made to face the consequences,” he said.
Figures on car registrations against new car sales point to irregularities, Baker observed.
According to the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc., there were 99,541 new cars sold in 2006.
But Business World reported that from January to May 2006 alone, there were 325,226 new private cars registered with the Land Transportation Office (LTO).
“(Here) in Cebu, just go around and see why,” Baker said.
He noted that 25,000 used cars are smuggled into Cebu while 178,000 units are illegally imported through Subic.
The prevalence of smuggled used cars is more the result of insufficient enforcement of laws than the buyer’s ability to pay.
He said there are other countries in Asia with similar economic conditions—like Indonesia, Thailand and even Vietnam—but it is only in the Philippines that the entry and use of smuggled used vehicles are rampant.
“Buying smuggled used vehicles is solving a short-term problem but creating a long-term one,” Baker said. “You are robbing the future of the country every time you buy one. The country loses much-needed revenue that could go to fund education and health programs.”
Apart from loss of potential revenues, illegally imported used vehicles are unsafe, he added.
Baker also pointed out that the Philippines is the only country in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) that has not recovered from the 1997 financial crisis.
Total car sales in Thailand in 2007 reached 600,000 from only 144,065 in 1998.
Baker said even Vietnam’s car sales growth overtook that of the Philippines. In January alone, there were 13,000 new cars sold in Vietnam but only 8,000 in the Philippines, he added.
He said, though, that these conditions are not enough to send automotive manufacturers packing.
“Car companies don’t look at only one factor,” he said.
Ford invested in a car and engine manufacturing plant in Sta. Rosa, Laguna. The plant manufactures Ford Focus and Escape and Mazda 3 and Tribute, which are exported to other Asean countries like Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam.
Baker said given the present challenges that face the automotive industry in the country, Ford will not only focus on addressing domestic demand but also work on increasing its exports from the Sta. Rosa plant. (LAP)
