The Bureau of Customs conduct an inventory of high-end vehicles on display at the showroom of RDY Premium Cars in Barangay Ugong, Pasig. (Photo from the Facebook page of the Bureau of Customs)
MANILA, Philippines — A government team found 87 vehicles with “questionable” documents during a raid last July 4 at the Pasig showroom of RDY Premium Cars, which deals in high-end cars, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) said in a statement issued on Monday.
Among the brands of the vehicles under question were Lexus, Mercedes Benz, Porsche, Jaguar, GMC, McLaren, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Audi, and Land Rover.
Commissioner Bienvenido Rubio authorized the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service Intelligence Group to conduct the raid on verifying reports that the dealers had been selling hypercars even without proper documentation.
The raiding team, which included some members of the Philippine Coast Guard, found 197 imported and locally-sourced vehicles in the RDY showroom in Barangay Ugong — including the 87 vehicles that did not have documents to prove that taxes and duties have been paid for them.
The inventory was completed on July 6, two days after the raid.
CIIS Director Verne Enciso clarified in Monday’s statement that, contrary to earlier reports, the showroom was not put on lockdown.
“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,” Enciso said.
Enciso also denied a claim that the raid was led by a deputy commissioner and a lawyer from another agency. He said the raid was implemented by BOC 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 [piece of] information we get from our sources,” Enciso claimed.
Uy meanwhile said that proper procedures were followed during the raid.
He added, under the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act, the respondent would still have 15 days to submit evidence of correct payment of duties and taxes before BOC would seize and forfeit the vehicles.
For now, BOC agents would be stationed at the dealership to monitor the vehicles.