Lawmaker seeks probe of Mindanao car smuggling

MANILA, Philippines - A Mindanao congressman is seeking an investigation into the alleged smuggling of luxury vehicles through ports on the island.

In Resolution 1308, Misamis Occidental Rep. Henry Oaminal said he received information that from Dec. 31 last year to Feb. 8 this year, 34 brand new luxury sport utility vehicles (SUVs) were smuggled into Mindanao.   

“Unless and until these furtive activities are addressed and the connections of the smugglers are duly exposed, charged and punished accordingly, the much-ballyhooed government campaign to minimize smuggling will not just be a shot in the wilderness but worse, makes it a laughing stock,” he said.

“The situation is totally unfair and unjust to legitimate importers and businessmen who properly and seasonably pay their taxes and duties in their effort to help the government,” he added.

He said the 34 smuggled SUVs, including top-of-the-line Toyota Land Cruisers and Prados, Range Rovers, Mercedez Benzes, and BMWs, had a gross value of P150 million.

Oaminal claimed the vehicles were brought in through ports in Northern Mindanao, including the port in Ozamis City.

He said he would not be surprised that some corrupt Customs officers and employees were in cahoots with the smugglers.        

He urged the Customs central office in Manila to track the vehicles and coordinate with the Land Transportation Office so the SUVs would not be registered without the importers or their buyers paying the right amount of duties and taxes.

In the past, there were reports of rampant vehicle smuggling through the ports and economic zones in Subic, Sta. Ana, Cagayan, Cebu and Davao City.