The Bureau of Customs (BOC) of the Philippines announced an upcoming auction of several vehicles belonging to contractors Pacifico and Sarah Discaya, who are linked to alleged anomalies in government flood control projects. According to BOC Deputy Chief of Staff Chris Bendijo, if the vehicles remain unsold at the auction on December 5, they may be destroyed. The vehicles to be auctioned include a 2023 Rolls-Royce Cullinan, a 2022 Bentley Bentayga, a 2022 Toyota Tundra, and a 2023 Toyota Sequoia. Bendijo stated that aside from disposition through sale, the BOC may still resort to condemnation or destruction of the vehicles. In such cases, buyers can propose their own price, subject to the approval of 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. 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. 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.
