THE Bureau of Customs (BOC) has so far seized 14 luxury vehicles belonging to Sarah and Pacifico Discaya, owners of construction firms linked to anomalous flood control projects in various parts of the country.
In a radio interview, BOC Commissioner Ariel Nepomuceno said those currently under their custody include the 12 vehicles covered by a search warrant issued by the court:
Toyota LC300 3.3 V6 ZX AT SUV 2024
Maserati Levante Modena 2022
Rolls Royce Cullinan
Bentley Bentayga
Mercedes Benz G-500
Mercedes AMG G 63 AMG
Toyota Tundra
Toyota Sequoia
Cadillac Escalade
GMC Yukon Denali SUV
two Lincoln Navigators
“Ngayon, ang nandoon na po sa ating kustodiya bale 14 na. Bukod sa 12 naming in-apply, may nadatnan pa kami doon na dalawa,” Nepomuceno said.
(Now, those already in our custody are 14 in total. Aside from the 12 we applied for, we also found two more there.)
“Pero hindi po tayo magtatapos diyan. Dahil sila na rin naman ang nagsabi na 28 yun. So at the minimum, 28 yung hahabulin naming. Pero again, hindi rin kami titigil doon dahil baka more than 28 yun,” he added.
(But we will not stop there, because they themselves said there were 28. So at the minimum, we will go after 28. But again, we will not stop at that either, because it might be more than 28.)
The BOC, along with elements of the Highway Patrol Group (HPG), stormed a Discaya property Tuesday, September 2, to serve a search warrant over possible irregularities in the importation and tax payments of their luxury vehicles.
Some of the vehicles were not in the area during the raid.
During a Senate hearing on Monday, September 1, Sarah admitted to owning a total of 28 luxury vehicles, including:
A Rolls Royce worth P42 million
A Maybach Mercedes worth P22 million
A Bentley worth P20 million
A Mercedes G63 wirth P20 million
Two Cadillac Escalade worth P11 million and P8 million
Two GMC Denali worth P11 million each
A Suburban Chevrolet worth P3 million
A Range Rover Autobiography worth P16 million
A Range Rover Defender worth P7 million
A Range Rover Evoke worth P5 million
In a press conference, Cornelio Samaniego III, legal counsel for the embattled couple, maintained the legality of the acquisition of the luxury vehicles.
“Lahat po ay locally purchased from authorized car dealers. Lahat po naka-rehistro ‘yung 12 luxury cars. Hindi po irerehistro yan ng LTO kung merong tax dues,” Samaniego said.
(All of these were locally purchased from authorized car dealers. All 12 luxury cars are registered. The LTO would not register them if there were any tax dues.)
“Ginagamit ho kasi 'yung ibang sasakyan (kaya wala kahapon). So 'yung iba naman for maintenance, 'yung iba naman nailagay sa isang lugar kasi preemptive measure sila ngayon dahil nagbabaha dito sa Pasig. Hindi po itinatago. Bakit itatago e legal 'yung mga ‘yun,” he added.
(Some of the vehicles were in use (which is why they weren’t there yesterday). Others were for maintenance, while some were placed in a certain location as a preemptive measure because of flooding here in Pasig. They are not being hidden. Why would they be hidden when they are legal?) (TPM/SunStar Philippines)