Duterte watches as 14 luxury cars go under a bulldozer

President Rodrigo Roa Duterte looks at the contraband luxury vehicles with the cabinet members before the condemnation at Sta Ana, Port Irene, Cagayan. INQUIRER PHOTO/JOAN BONDOC

SANTA ANA, CAGAYAN— Gone in 150 seconds.

That was all it took for a bulldozer and a backhoe to destroy 14 imported luxury cars worth about P180 million, as President Duterte watched at Port Irene here on Wednesday, sending a powerful message to car smugglers.

Another 800 vehicles that arrived in 2013 and 2014 and were impounded at the free port because of irregularities would also be destroyed, port officials said.

“I will never tolerate smuggling and all forms of irregularities in our ports,” said Mr. Duterte in a speech.

The President had earlier said that smugglers abandoned imported vehicles “so they could buy them back for at a cheaper price in government auctions.”

A crowd of 500 people watched as the bulldozer ran over two rows of cars, part of the 855 vehicles that the Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (Ceza) had earlier ordered seized.

The vehicles included a Porsche 911, a Maserati Quattro, a Mercedes Benz E55, a BMW Alpina B12, a Mercedes Benz Jeep G320, and a Mercedes Benz SL 55.

Ceza Administrator Raul Lambino said they had cleared the last stumbling block for the wrecking of the rest of the imported vehicles after accredited used car importer Fenix (Ceza) Inc. withdrew an appeal it had filed to stop it. —Melvin Gascon