BOC seeks to seize ‘misdeclared’ car turned over by Derek Ramsay

MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Customs (BOC) will be issuing a warrant to seize the allegedly misdeclared car turned over by actor Derek Ramsay.

He surrendered the vehicle, a Porsche 918 Spyder, to the Land Transportation (LTO) after it was flagged for supposedly using a fake license plate on a public road.

“Ito ay talagang iisyuhan namin ngayong araw na ito ng warrant of seizure and detention. Ibig sabihin, ito ay papasok sa isang proseso na ito ay magiging pagmamay-ari na ng pamahalaan,” BOC Commissioner Ariel Nepomuceno said in a press briefing in Quezon City on Monday.

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(We will issue a warrant of seizure and detention for this car today. That means it will undergo a process to be government property.)

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READ: Derek Ramsay asserts amid misdeclared car allegation: ‘I’m not a smuggler’

“Kapag natapos ang warrant of seizure and detention at seizure proceedings, ito ay napasakamay sa gobyerno, ito ay iau-auction natin. Hindi ito sisirain o wawasakin. Hindi rin ito ido-donate,” he added.

(Once the warrant of seizure and detention is issued and the seizure proceedings are completed, it will be owned by the government and we will auction this. We won’t destroy it. We won’t donate it.)

The vehicle was imported to the Philippines in 2021, according to Nepomuceno.

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The Porsche 918 Spyder was valued between P50 and P100 million at the time of the import, but it was declared with the BOC as a Porsche Boxster, which cost only around P10 million, the Customs commissioner noted.

With this development, Nepomuceno said Customs will be charging the importer, the shipper, the consignee and the Customs officer who handled the declaration of the imported car for smuggling.

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The Customs chief identified the importer as a company in the United Arab Emirates, the shipper as Emirates National General Trade, the consignee as Tobirama Enterprises and the BOC officer who oversaw the importation as a certain Richard Singh Colasco.

Nonetheless, Nepomuceno said Ramsay, who owned the vehicle for around four years, may still be summoned by the investigation.

“He (Ramsay) claims na buyer in good faith siya… Malay niya kung saan galing o paano ito ipinasok sa bansa. Yun ang paliwanag niya,” the Customs chief said.

(He claims he was a buyer in good faith… He says he did not know where it came from or how it was imported into the country. That was his explanation.)

“Sorry sa tunay na may-ari. Alam naming sikat siyang artista. Nakikita namin sa mga programa sa TV at sinehan, maayos na tao naman siya. Kaya nga lang ay biktima rin dito. Hindi ko sinasabing smuggler siya dahil binili niya ito sa isang kumpanya na JWorks,” he added.

(Apologies to the owner. We know he is a popular actor. We’ve seen his programs on television and in the movies. He seems to be a law-abiding person. It’s just that he was a victim here, too. I’m not saying he’s a smuggler because he bought it from a company called JWorks.)

For his part, also at the briefing, LTO chief Assistant Secretary Markus Lacanilao said his agency will have a separate resolution as to the alleged usage of a fake plate.

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He previously noted that the driver of the vehicle at the time it had been flagged already surrendered his driver’s license to the LTO. /mr