What happens to the Discayas' luxury vehicles if they remain unsold at auction?
Four of the seven luxury vehicles confiscated by the Bureau of Customs from contractors Sarah and Curlee Discaya will be auctioned off on Friday, Dec. 5. This, after failed bids in the first auction held on Nov. 20, where only three of the vehicles were successfully sold.
If there would still be no takers on Friday's auction, will the BOC hold a third auction? Otherwise, what will they do with the remaining luxury vehicles?
"Aside from the disposition based on sale, we can still resort to condemnation or sirain na lang talaga ‘yung mga vehicles na ‘yan. That is still an available option,” said Chris Bendijo, BOC deputy chief of staff, at a press conference on Monday, Dec. 1.
"It's really an exercise of discretion on the part of the commissioner. In fact, we could have dispensed with the auction and went straight to the condemnation," Bendijo added.
According to him, however, Customs commissioner Ariel Nepomuceno is less inclined to destroying the vehicles, and would prefer to "convert it into revenue kasi, considering the state of our country, we are in need of more of a budget rather than, you know, destroying the forfeited items," said Bendijo.
The four vehicles that will be up for auction at 10 a.m. on Dec. 5 are:
- Toyota Tundra (2022), with a floor price of P3,473,253.97, and bond at P347,325.00
- Toyota Sequoia (2023), with a floor price of P4,669,554.50, and bond at P466,955.00
- Rolls-Royce Cullinan (2023), with a floor price of P36,281,415.72, and bond at P1,814,071.00
- Bentley Bentayga (2022), with a floor price of P13,878,800.38, and bond at P693,940.00
The bond acts as a guarantee from bidders that they can afford to pay the whole amount if they win the bid. If they do win, the bond amount is deducted from the bidder's final payment. The bond will be refunded to the losing bidders. To participate in the auction, bidders are required to pay a non-refundable registration fee of P5,050.
In the Nov. 20 auction, the BOC sold three of the Discayas' confiscated luxury vehicles—a Mercedes Benz G500, a Mercedes Benz G63 AMG, and a Lincoln Navigator L—for a combined total of P38,211,710. The entire amount was surrendered to the Bureau of Treasury, as will the proceeds from the Dec. 5 auction.
The Discaya couple has been under investigation since August for their alleged involvement in the huge flood control scandal.
