Philippine President Watches Bulldozer Destroy $5.6 Million Worth of Smuggled Supercars

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte led the “condemnation and public destruction” of smuggled vehicles consisting of 68 luxury sports cars and eight motorcycles that had been seized by the local customs agency.

The contraband vehicles, which reportedly worth a total of 298 million Philippine pesos ($5.6 million), were destroyed by the government on Monday in Sta Ana, in the northern province of Cagayan, Rappler reports.

The President’s Office revealed in its official statement that the vehicles destroyed were part of the 800 contraband cars and motorcycles recently seized by customs officers in the province.

Wearing a hard-hat, the tough-talking leader cheered on as the bulldozers began crushing numerous Mercedes-Benz cars and BMW models, Japanese sports coupes, Porsche 911s, and at least one Lamborghini Gallardo.

Duterte, who came to power in 2016 under the promise of getting rid of the nation’s drugs, crime and corruption in just 3-6 months, admitted in his speech before the event that while he will not be able to eradicate corruption and smuggling in government during his term, bulldozing the cars is a step in the right direction.

“I did this because you have to show to the world that you have a viable place of investment and business. And the only way to show it is that you are productive and that you have the economy, to absorb the productivity of the population,” Duterte was quoted as saying.

He further noted that establishing law and order across the country is the first step in his plan.

The Duterte administration carried out a similar stunt in February in which the president ordered the destruction of dozens of sports cars and luxury vehicles in Manila. The officials reportedly destroyed Jaguars, BMWs and a Corvette Stingray worth around $1.1 million.

In March, the government also crushed 27 vehicles, with an estimated worth of $509,000.

In his speech at the National Security Council anniversary on Tuesday which was made public the next day, Duterte revealed that he saved over 10 contraband Hummers from being destroyed because he wants to give them to the police and military.

“There were some I didn’t destroy, the vans and Hummer… I said do not destroy it because I’ll give it to the military and police for their use,” he was quoted as saying.

He also added that some smuggled vans will be “divided” among local governments, without specifying which local government unit will receive them.

Featured image via Facebook/RTVM

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