THE Bureau of Customs (BOC) revealed Wednesday that a sophisticated scheme involving tampered x-ray images and erased import entries was used to smuggle luxury cars into the Philippines, implicating contractors Curlee and Sarah Discaya in a flood control corruption scandal.
During a Senate Committee on Ways and Means hearing, BOC Commissioner Ariel Nepomuceno detailed the methods used by the Discayas to import their 30 luxury vehicles, highlighting the elaborate efforts to evade taxes and detection.
“’Yung x-ray din niyan, ang makitang image was Raptor for that Bugatti, meaning parang pickup ‘yun, pero ang laman iba. So it’s an elaborate method of cheating the government,” Nepomuceno explained. (The x-ray image that was seen supposedly for the Bugatti was a Raptor, meaning it looks like a pickup vehicle but the content is different. So it’s an elaborate method of cheating the government.) This involved replacing the actual image of a luxury car with that of a pickup truck to mislead customs officials.
He further elaborated that the tampered images served as the basis for undervaluing the vehicles, resulting in significantly lower tax payments. “Tampered ‘yun, ma’am. But if talagang na-x-ray ‘yan, dapat lalabas ‘yung totoo. So tampered ‘yung image para ‘yun ang magiging basis ng evaluation so you’ll pay less,” he added. (That’s tampered, ma’am. If it was really x-rayed, the real image should be seen. So the image was tampered so that it would be the basis of the evaluation in order for them to pay less.)
In addition to the x-ray manipulation, Nepomuceno revealed that the import entry system was also compromised. Vehicles were allegedly entering the country without proper documentation or certificates of payment.
“For example, one case… ‘yung Bugatti before, ang sasakyan literally, we suspected pumasok, for example, sa Batangas Port, and then ‘yung import entry doon naka-lodge ‘yan through the IT system although later on mabubura ‘yan eh. That’s the modus that we found out,” Nepomuceno stated. (For example, for the case of the Bugatti, we suspected it entered at the Batangas Port, and then its import entry was lodged through the IT system. But later on, it was erased. That’s the modus that we found out.) He further explained that certificates of payment were being obtained from different ports to further obscure the paper trail.
When questioned by Senator Pia Cayetano about the purpose of these elaborate schemes, Nepomuceno responded, “Para mahirap ma-trace kung iimbestigahan.” (So it would be difficult to trace if these would be investigated.)
The BOC Commissioner also expressed his belief that the Discayas had collaborators within the customs bureau, facilitating the entry of the luxury vehicles. He emphasized the need for technology-based solutions to combat smuggling effectively.
While 17 of the Discayas’ 30 luxury cars were acquired through legitimate channels, the remaining 13 are under scrutiny. The BOC is set to auction off seven of these vehicles, including a Rolls-Royce Cullinan, on November 17, 2025, and estimates that the Discayas evaded approximately P100 million in taxes.
