Expensive Cars Destroyed in Philippines to Teach Smugglers a Lesson
Philippine officials order the destruction of smuggled luxury vehicles to "send a message."
www.forbesautos.com - by Teresa Cerojano - Associated Press
Three BMW X5s, like the one pictured above, were destroyed by the Philippine government to teach smugglers a lesson.
Gleaming luxury cars were reduced to crushed glass, twisted metal and tattered leather Thursday as Philippine officials oversaw the destruction of 18 vehicles smuggled into a former U.S. naval base that is now a tax-free port.
Fourteen other cars — including a Porsche, a Lamborghini and a Ferrari — that were supposed to be destroyed Thursday were not crushed because of some legal hurdles, but will be wrecked at a later date, said Finance Secretary Margarito Teves.
A Lincoln Navigator, three BMW X5s, a Chevrolet Camper and a Mitsubishi GTO (called the Mitsubishi 3000GT in many markets) sports car were among the vehicles worth a total of 30 million pesos ($647,000) crushed by backhoes at the Subic Bay Freeport as Teves and customs officials watched.
The cars were destroyed on orders from President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo ''to send a message and also because it's common knowledge that if we auction them, the smugglers also win so it defeats the purpose,'' said Arroyo's aide, Cerge Remonde.
The government hopes the example will serve as a deterrent to smugglers, Teves said.
''It's morally justifiable because [smuggling is] harming the state, it's harming our industry, it doesn't generate potential employment for our people,'' he said.
He appealed to everyone to ''pay your taxes to help the country because we need the revenues to provide our people services and infrastructure.''
Teves said the 18 smuggled cars alone cost the government 10 million pesos ($217,000) in lost taxes.
Customs Commissioner Napoleon Morales said the 18 destroyed cars were smuggled into Subic in 2002 but were not claimed by their owners, perhaps because they feared being in trouble with the law. The 14 other cars have claimants who are contesting their forfeiture in court, he said.
Earlier this month, Arroyo vowed to step up anti-smuggling efforts after revenue collections fell short of the target for the first half of the year and local industries complained about rampant smuggling.
www.forbesautos.com - by Teresa Cerojano - Associated Press
Three BMW X5s, like the one pictured above, were destroyed by the Philippine government to teach smugglers a lesson.
Gleaming luxury cars were reduced to crushed glass, twisted metal and tattered leather Thursday as Philippine officials oversaw the destruction of 18 vehicles smuggled into a former U.S. naval base that is now a tax-free port.
Fourteen other cars — including a Porsche, a Lamborghini and a Ferrari — that were supposed to be destroyed Thursday were not crushed because of some legal hurdles, but will be wrecked at a later date, said Finance Secretary Margarito Teves.
A Lincoln Navigator, three BMW X5s, a Chevrolet Camper and a Mitsubishi GTO (called the Mitsubishi 3000GT in many markets) sports car were among the vehicles worth a total of 30 million pesos ($647,000) crushed by backhoes at the Subic Bay Freeport as Teves and customs officials watched.
The cars were destroyed on orders from President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo ''to send a message and also because it's common knowledge that if we auction them, the smugglers also win so it defeats the purpose,'' said Arroyo's aide, Cerge Remonde.
The government hopes the example will serve as a deterrent to smugglers, Teves said.
''It's morally justifiable because [smuggling is] harming the state, it's harming our industry, it doesn't generate potential employment for our people,'' he said.
He appealed to everyone to ''pay your taxes to help the country because we need the revenues to provide our people services and infrastructure.''
Teves said the 18 smuggled cars alone cost the government 10 million pesos ($217,000) in lost taxes.
Customs Commissioner Napoleon Morales said the 18 destroyed cars were smuggled into Subic in 2002 but were not claimed by their owners, perhaps because they feared being in trouble with the law. The 14 other cars have claimants who are contesting their forfeiture in court, he said.
Earlier this month, Arroyo vowed to step up anti-smuggling efforts after revenue collections fell short of the target for the first half of the year and local industries complained about rampant smuggling.
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