The luxury vehicles of contractors Pacifico and Sarah Discaya, linked to alleged anomalies in government flood control projects, may be destroyed if they remain unsold in the upcoming auction on December 5, Bureau of Customs (BOC) Deputy Chief of Staff Chris Bendijo said.
The vehicles on the auction block include a 2023 Rolls-Royce Cullinan, 2022 Bentley Bentayga, 2022 Toyota Tundra, and 2023 Toyota Sequoia.
“Aside from disposition through sale, we can still resort to condemnation or just destroy those vehicles,” Bendijo said during a press conference. However, he noted that the BOC prefers to convert the assets into revenue given the country’s current budgetary needs.
Bendijo explained that the auction’s base prices have been lowered from the previous November 17 valuation to encourage more bidders.
The Rolls-Royce Cullinan saw the largest adjustment, dropping nearly P10 million from its previous P45.3 million price. The Toyota Tundra decreased by around P1.5 million, the Sequoia by about P2.6 million, and the Bentley Bentayga by roughly P3.2 million.
The BOC may also entertain direct offers if vehicles remain unsold after the second auction. In such cases, buyers can propose their own price, subject to approval by the BOC commissioner.
Bendijo added that the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) recently issued a notice of restraint and levy on the Discayas’ remaining vehicles still under BOC custody. Coordination between the two agencies is ongoing to transfer the 17 remaining vehicles to the BIR.
The remarks were made after Bendijo attended a Technical Working Group meeting at the Independent Commission on Infrastructure to discuss asset recovery coordination.
