Discaya luxury cars auctions yield P38.2M

The Bureau of Customs (BoC) recovered P38,211,710 for the national treasury Thursday after auctioning three luxury vehicles seized from contractor couple Sarah and Curlee Discaya, who are linked to alleged irregularities in government flood control projects.

BoC Commissioner Ariel Nepomuceno said the generated proceeds marked a “milestone” in the government’s push to reclaim stolen public funds.

“We have proven that this can be done with the full view of the entire nation,” Nepomuceno said. “What’s important here than the money or funds we might obtain is the symbolism or our value that if you do wrong, you will be held accountable, and the country’s money should benefit our countrymen.”

The auction, which was livestreamed for transparency, saw two companies successfully bid on the vehicles — Simplex Industrial Corp. was the winning bidder for the 2019 Mercedes-Benz G500 Brabus, selling for P15.5 million (initial floor price: P7,843,239), and the 2022 Mercedes-Benz G63 AMG, which sold for P15,611,710 (initial floor price: P14,104,768), while Lestrell Jewelries acquired the 2022 Lincoln Navigator for P7.1 million (initial floor price: P7,038,726).

The sale was the first phase of an auction involving seven luxury cars voluntarily forfeited by the couple due to customs violations.

Nepomuceno expects the total proceeds from all seven units to reach P103,865,125.

Department of Public Works and Highways Secretary Vince Dizon, who attended the auction, reiterated that this event is highly symbolic and marks the beginning of restitution to the public in the Discaya case.

“Recovering these funds is a crucial symbol and a start toward ensuring that the people’s money is returned,” Dizon said, citing that these are the first recovered funds returning to the government in the ongoing investigation.

Nepomuceno confirmed that all auction proceeds will be remitted directly to the Bureau of the Treasury.

Presidential Communications Undersecretary and Palace Press Officer Claire Castro also confirmed that all proceeds from the auction will be immediately remitted to the national treasury.

“Filipinos can expect that all the proceeds from the auction will be immediately remitted to the national treasury,” said Castro, adding that the funds would be fully returned to public coffers.

She also cited that 14 other construction companies are currently under monitoring for similar irregularities, calling the results visible just three months after President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. ordered an investigation into the alleged corruption.

The BoC is still pursuing forfeiture proceedings for six other vehicles linked to the Discaya family. For the four vehicles that did not sell on Thursday, the BoC will recompute their floor prices for a subsequent round of bidding.

The event was attended by officials including newly-appointed Department of Finance Secretary Frederick D. Go, Independent Commission for Infrastructure chairperson Andres B. Reyes Jr., and representatives from the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Commission on Audit, underscoring the unified government commitment to accountability.