Creation of Motor Vehicle Clearance Office sought

MANILA, Philippines - An official of the Bureau of Customs (BOC) is pushing for the creation of a unit that would intensify the screening of imported vehicles following the successful entry of 25 allegedly smuggled vehicles and motorcycles from the United States.

BOC-Enforcement and Security Service (ESS) director Nestorio Gualberto said he has proposed the creation of the Motor Vehicle Clearance Office (MVCO) to Customs Commissioner Angelito Alvarez to boost the agency’s capability in monitoring vehicles coming into the country.

“I have already submitted to Commissioner Alvarez my recommendation (to form the MVCO). We are just waiting for his approval and signature on the document. The one who would head this new unit is Major Rodrigo Gonzales, who is our point person at the Regional Intelligence Liaison Office (RILO),” Gualberto said.

The proposed MVCO would be under the BOC-ESS, and would be coordinating with the RILO, a global information exchange network around the world that manages data on illegal activities related to customs matters.

“The RILO receives information about stolen vehicles from other countries and we could check if the vehicles arriving in the Philippines were stolen or not,” Gualberto said.

According to Gualberto, the RILO has information on the chassis number and motor number, model, make and color of stolen vehicles. Once this information is given to the BOC, the bureau could better check the history of the vehicles and determine if these were smuggled.

Since the RILO is connected with the International Police (Interpol), the BOC could also have access to Interpol information on the operations of international car smuggling syndicates.

Gualberto earlier said there are already speculations that the Philippines may be used as a dumping ground for smuggled vehicles from some first world countries.

“We are looking at the possibility that cars, not only from the United States but from first world countries as well, are being smuggled into the Philippines,” he said.

Gualberto explained that the Filipino’s penchant for second-hand vehicles makes the illegal business profitable for smugglers and their cohorts.

“Filipinos are fond of buying second hand cars, so there is a market, there is a demand for this kind of vehicles in the country. It is cheaper compared to buying brand new vehicles,” the BOC-ESS head added.

Earlier this month, joint operatives of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) raided two warehouses in Bukidnon and Cagayan de Oro and seized 25 luxury cars and motorcycles. One of the recovered items was a motorcycle that reportedly belonged to Hollywood scriptwriter Skip Woods and which he had reported as stolen.