Government agents have raided a renowned hub of luxury cars in Barangay Ugong in Pasig City.
A composite team from the Bureau of Customs and Philippine Coast Guard implemented a Letter of Authority signed on July 4 by Commissioner Bien Rubio to check on RDY Premium Auto Camp that allegedly carried a mix of luxury imported and locally sourced vehicles without proper documentation.
Upon arrival at the dealership, the team found some 197 imported and locally sourced vehicles, but 87 of these units are now currently under investigation due to questionable documents.
A 100-percent inventory of the vehicles was immediately conducted.
“There needs to be a clarification of what transpired during the raid because there are varying, and even false, accounts about what happened,” said Rubio.
“There was reportedly no tight lockdown in the showroom. This was because of the unusual location of the car hub wherein the compound is being shared by several other business establishments. If a tight lockdown was put in place, our team would have also compromised the operations of the other businesses there,” he explained.
Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service director Verne Enciso also belied reports that the “special operation” was led by a Deputy Commissioner and a lawyer of a different group.
Instead, he said it was a result of an intelligence operation conceptualized and implemented by the CIIS Intelligence Group led by Deputy Commissioner for Intelligence Juvymax Uy.
“Every operation we conduct is a product of intense brainstorming and weeks of monitoring, analyzing, and investigation. We don’t go out there on a whim. Our team has been working day and night to confirm each information we get from our sources,” Enciso said.
Included in the 87 vehicles currently being investigated because of questionable documents are several units of Lexus, Mercedes Benz, Porsche Macan, Jaguar, GMC Savana, McLaren, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Audi, and Land Rover.
DepCom Uy assured that the proper procedure was followed during the implementation of the LOA and pending the result of the investigation into the cars’ documents.
“In fact, the BOC has posted agents and officers 24/7 in the establishment to secure the vehicles found there,” he said.
Under Section 224 of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA), the interested party have 15 days from implementation of the Letter of Authority within which to submit evidence of payment of correct duties and taxes due on the subject imported goods, otherwise the same will be ordered seized and undergo corresponding forfeiture proceedings pursuant to Customs Administrative Order No. 10-2020.
