Owner of seized luxury cars sues NBI

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Philippines—The owner of the seized luxury cars and motorcycle from a warehouse in Bukidnon has surfaced Friday to announce he sued the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to recover his merchandise and be compensated for damages.

A teary-eyed Lynard Allan Bigcas also took the opportunity to deny his involvement in a smuggling syndicate, as a ranking official had earlier claimed.

Among those seized from the Talakag raid last week by NBI agents was a custom motorbike stolen from Hollywood writer Skip Woods and a black book allegedly detailing Bigcas’ business.

But Bigcas said he was into the legal business of importing and selling vehicles, including the alleged motorcycle owned by Woods and the other items seized in Bukidnon.

“I want to clear my name. I don’t care if I lose my business,” he told reporters at a hotel here.

Lawyer Alejandro Jose Pallugna, Bigcas’ counsel, said they have filed on Wednesday a civil case against the NBI to get back the cars and motorcycles seized from Talakag town and from a warehouse here, at the Cagayan de Oro regional trial court.

He said the merchandise—consisting of 25 cars and motorcycles—were illegally seized and had to be returned to Bigcas because these were not covered by a warrant.

He said the warrant that the NBI used in searching his properties were for guns and not cars or motorcycles.

“(The raids were) not only highly illegal and abusive but also baseless and unjust as all the personal properties are duly registered and licensed,” Bigcas added.

Bigcas also wants the court to order the NBI to pay him P300,000 for lawyer’s fees and another P200,000 as reimbursement for the cost of filing the suit.

The search and seizure warrant order that the NBI presented during the raids only listed two items—a para ordnance pistol and a 5.56 Colt rifle, Bigcas said.

NBI 10 regional director Jose Justo Yap said they welcomed Bigcas’ decision to finally come out.

Yap said they had not been able to arrest Bigcas because of the absence of a warrant of arrest. The NBI filed cases against Bigcas Friday for illegal possession of firearms at the Bukidnon Provincial Prosecutor’s Office and at the Cagayan de Oro City Prosecutor’s Office as a result of the raids, he said.

Yap said they were also coordinating with the Bureau of Customs and the Land Transportation Office regional offices for information and documentation of the vehicles seized.

He said all the items seized in the twin raids were being kept at the provincial headquarters of the NBI here and all were accounted for.

Bigcas said he came out to erase suspicions that many people were involved in his business transactions involving luxury cars and high-end motorcycles.

He also dismissed the NBI’s claim of a supposed black book containing his contacts, saying it was a diary.

Bigcas also denied he was hiding.

He said he had never left the city since the raids on his properties and had even turned over to the NBI a vehicle that authorities were supposedly looking for.

“I personally turned over the yellow car to the NBI three days after the raid because I heard they were looking for it,” he said. JB Deveza and Richel Umel, Inquirer Mindanao