The Bureau of Customs (BOC) will auction off 13 smuggled luxury cars owned by contractor couple Pacifico ‘Curlee’ and Cezarah ‘Sarah’ Discaya on November 15, 2025, according to the agency.
In an interview on Wednesday, BOC Assistant Commissioner Atty. Vincent Maranilla said that the agency was unsatisfied with the documents submitted by the couple to prove the legitimacy of the vehicle purchases.
‘The luxury cars of the Discayas, which we issued a warrant of seizure and detention, are for forfeiture. So they will be subjected to the auction process by November 15,’ Maranilla said speaking in Filipino.
Last September, the 13 cars were contained inside the compound of the agency after it issued a warrant of seizure and detention after finding sufficient grounds for seizure due to improper documentation of purchases. With this, the Discayas were given a final opportunity to submit documents to prove the legitimacy of purchases.
The BOC earlier said that of the 13 cars, seven were found to have no import entry records and certificates of payment (COP), while the remaining six have import entry records but dubious COPs or no payment documentation at all.
Prior to the issuance of WSD, the couple had already been given a chance to submit documents in relation to the cars believed to be smuggled.
‘They were given an initial of 15 days, they were issued WSD. During the seizure proceedings, they were given the same opportunity and they submitted the same [documents], which were unsatisfactory to the Bureau of Customs,’ Maranilla said in Filipino.
‘Our verification, the incompleteness of the documents, incompleteness of payment, and incompleteness of being sure that it was actually legally imported to the Philippines, is the basis why we are forfeiting these cars and scheduling them for auction,’ Maranilla added.
Maranilla also shared that the vehicles may be auctioned for P100 million to P200 million. He said that the funds collected from the auction will support the government’s priority projects.
Maranilla then assured potential buyers that the cars will be sold to them by the BOC itself, emphasizing that it will undergo through the proper auction process.
‘We will issue a certification that you bought this from an auction so you can use this properly and with no problem,’ he added.
But are the Discayas qualified to participate in the auction? Maranilla said that since the couple has not established that they are buyers in good faith, they are disqualified from it. He explained that the agency does not want the auction process for them to retrieve those that were illegally imported into the country.
Meanwhile, Maranilla said that the BOC will file charges for illegal importation under the Customs Modernization Act against the importer of the vehicles.
However, he clarified that if the investigations reveal that the couple is in cahoots with the illegal importers, then they will also be charged the same thing as them.
Update on the BOC personnel
BOC Commissioner Ariel Nepomuceno earlier said that the BOC issued show cause orders to more than 10 of its personnel to explain how the cars entered ports under their authority. Maranilla noted that they have already submitted their explanations.
‘They submitted their affidavit. The hearing is ongoing in the investigation division, and once we issue a resolution on their cases, we’ll make it public,’ Maranilla said in Filipino. /jpv