BOC Eyes Auction of Discayas’ Seized Luxury Cars

The Bureau of Customs (BOC) may soon auction 13 luxury vehicles owned by Pacifico “Curlee” and Cezarah “Sarah” Discaya if the couple fails to prove the legality of their acquisition, BOC Commissioner Ariel Nepomuceno said Wednesday.

The Discaya couple has been linked to alleged irregularities in government-funded flood control projects. During a previous Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on the issue, Sarah Discaya admitted to owning 28 luxury cars.

The 13 vehicles are currently held inside a BOC compound after the agency issued a warrant of seizure and detention, citing insufficient documentation and questionable importation records.

“It means that it is a formal process where the cars will be forfeited and will become properties of the government if they fail to prove for one last time that they have proper documentation and payments,” Nepomuceno told reporters.

Nepomuceno clarified that the couple will be given due process to establish the legitimacy of the vehicles’ importation. Hearings are scheduled to begin on October 9.

Once forfeited, the BOC has three options for the seized vehicles: auction, destruction, or donation to other agencies. However, Nepomuceno said the agency intends to pursue only the first option.

“These can be auctioned. We will ensure that once we do it, the auction will be transparent and the bidding will be competitive so the money collected from it will be used for programs of the government,” he said.

According to the commissioner, the 13 vehicles have a combined estimated market value of around ₱220 million.

Of the 13 luxury cars, seven were found to have no import entry records or Certificates of Payment (COP):

• Toyota Tundra

• Toyota Sequoia

• Rolls-Royce Cullinan

• Mercedes-Benz AMG G83 AMG SUV

• Mercedes-Benz G 500

• Lincoln Navigator 2021

• Bentley Bentayga

Meanwhile, the remaining six vehicles had import entry records but either questionable COPs or no payment documentation at all:

• Lincoln Navigator 2024

• GMC Yukon Denali

• Cadillac Escalade 2021

• Maserati Levante Modena

• GMC Yukon XL Denali

• Cadillac Escalade ESV

Last September 10, the BOC revealed that eight of the Discayas’ vehicles were classified as smuggled due to the absence of import entry records and Certificates of Payment, while another seven had incomplete documentation.

Nepomuceno said the Discayas initially submitted supporting documents, but these failed to convince the agency of their authenticity. “They complied with providing documents but when we looked at those, we were not convinced that the documents were proper,” he said.

He added that out of the 15 cars initially flagged for irregularities, two were later found to have legitimate importation papers.

Overall, the BOC has placed 30 luxury vehicles owned by the Discaya family under verification to check importation records and assess duties and taxes. Nepomuceno said 17 of these cars were purchased from legitimate dealers, though they will still undergo post-audit clearance.

The commissioner also confirmed that the BOC has issued show cause orders to more than 10 personnel to explain how the vehicles entered the country under their supervision.

“At this point, it’s still a show cause order. If it elevates into a case, then we will have the opportunity to disclose. At this point, we are protecting their privacy once we find out that their explanations may be accurate,” Nepomuceno said.

The case has intensified public scrutiny over the Discaya couple’s assets, as authorities continue to investigate possible links between their luxury car collection and the alleged anomalies in multimillion-peso flood control contracts.