The Bureau of Customs (BOC) announced Thursday that it has placed 28 luxury vehicles tied to the Discaya family under its custody, as part of the government’s crackdown on alleged anomalous flood control projects.
According to the bureau, the family surrendered 16 high-end vehicles, while another 12 were seized on Wednesday through a court-ordered search at the St. Gerrard Construction General Contractor & Development Corp. compound in Pasig City, owned by the Discayas.
The 16 surrendered vehicles are currently being processed for sealing and documentation, under the close guard of Customs personnel, pending verification of import records and assessment of duties and taxes.
Among the luxury vehicles are a Mercedes Benz GLE, Land Rover Range Rover LWB, Land Rover Defender, Cadillac Escalade ESV, Ford Bronco, Mercedes Benz GLS 350, BMW X5 30D, Jaguar F-Pace 2.0D, Porsche Cayenne V6, Volvo XC90, Mercedes Benz Avant, Land Rover Range Rover Evo-F, Mercedes Benz Sprinter, ATV Quicksand, Yukon Denali, and ATV Gray.
The BOC, working with the Land Transportation Office (LTO), vowed to pursue a thorough investigation into the Discayas’ vehicles.
“We are committed to pursue the directive of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., to combat smuggling, protect government revenues, and ensure accountability through lawful customs processes,” said BOC Commissioner Ariel Nepomuceno.
Meanwhile, the bureau gave Pacifico and Cezarah Rowena Discaya 10 days to present purchase documents for the 12 seized vehicles.
“They have 10 days to prove their innocence, that they are the real buyers in good faith. So we will base our investigations and conclusions based on the documents,” Nepomuceno said in a television interview.
The BOC chief added that document matching has already begun and expects the verification to be completed next week.
“Give us more or less another week, the remaining part of this week and next week,” he added.