Lawmakers seek probe of SUV smuggling in CDO

MANILA, Philippines - Luxury sport utility vehicles (SUVs) from Italy and the United Arab Emirates are being smuggled into the country through Cagayan de Oro City and other ports in Northern Mindanao, Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez said yesterday.

He said informants from his district and the Bureau of Customs told him that the smuggled vehicles include Toyota Land Cruisers and Prados, Mercedez Benzes, BMWs and Range Rovers.

He said most of the SUVs entered the country between December last year and the first quarter of this year.

The vehicles were released from the ports of Cagayan de Oro and Ozamis City and from the Mindanao International Container Terminal in Misamis Oriental, he added.

Rodriguez said he wants his city to become a tourist destination and an economic growth area, not a smuggling haven.

“We have so many tourist attractions in Cagayan de Oro. With the recent opening and future development of Laguindingan airport, Cagayan de Oro can attract more foreign and local tourists. Our beautiful city does not deserve to be associated with vehicle smuggling or any kind of smuggling,” he said.

Rodriguez and his brother Maximo, who represents the party-list group Abante Mindanao, have filed Resolution 1596 asking the House committee on ways and means to look into the smuggling of SUVs through ports in Mindanao.

“There is a need for the committee to look into this illegal activity and determine how to stop it,” they said.