MANILA: Criminal complaints were filed with the Department of Justice against the importers of allegedly undervalued luxury cars, as well as officers of the Port of Batangas, on Friday by the Bureau of Customs.
In a briefing, Commissioner Alberto D. Lina said charges were filed against Monacat Trading and its owner Rolando A. Cuevas, manager Mermelinda C. dela Cruz, and licensed broker Flaviano B. dela Cruz for underdeclaring the correct value of 14 cars.
Charges were also lodged against five Port of Batangas officials: acting assessor Eloisa P. Suarez, acting COOIII Maricel A. Manguiat, COOIII Noralyn T. Asaria, acting COOV Araceli Jasa, and acting COOV Benjamin G. Manalo, Jr.
Mr. Lina said they were sued for “blindly processing the declaration on the subject Import Entries.”
These respondents face charges for violating Sections 3601 and 3602 of the Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines, as well as Article 172 of the Revised Penal Code for the falsification of documents.
The top-of-the-line vehicles, valued all-in-all at $1,123,346.30, were misdeclared as lower-class vehicles undervalued at $424,103.20.
The brand-new luxury cars, shipped in two batches on July 10 and 18 from the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, and Japan, were: a Land Rover Range Rover, a Land Rover Defender 90, a Ferrari 458 Speciale 2015, two Mercedes Benz G63 AMG, a Mercedes Benz CLK DTM AMG, an McLaren MP4-12C OR 650S, a Mercedes Benz C63 AMG, a Toyota Prado, two Toyota Land Cruiser GX V8 Sport, and two Toyota Land Cruiser GXR Bullet Proof.
