By Wilnard Bacelonia
MANILA – The Discayas are facing deeper scrutiny in the Senate after records and testimony revealed major discrepancies in the number of luxury cars they own, raising suspicions of tax evasion and vehicle smuggling.
Land Transportation Office (LTO) data obtained on Tuesday by Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada’s office showed at least 63 vehicles under the couple’s names and their companies, far higher than the 28 luxury cars admitted by businesswoman Sarah Discaya in an earlier Senate hearing.
Some of the cars she mentioned, including a Range Rover Defender, Cadillac Escalade, and Mercedes-Benz Maybach, were not in the registry.
The Bureau of Customs (BOC) has served a search warrant at the Discayas’ property in Pasig City on Tuesday but found only two of the 12 luxury cars listed, fueling speculation that the other units had been moved or hidden.
Estrada warned that some of the cars may be “gray vehicles,” or smuggled units that entered the country without proper tax payments.
“That’s possible. Para hindi siguro ma-confiscate. Kasi ang palagay ko, ang pakay lang naman ng Bureau of Customs, eh kung nakabayad sila ng tamang buwis (Maybe they hid them to avoid confiscation. Because, I think, the main concern of the Bureau of Customs is whether they paid the right taxes),” he said.
To expand accountability, Estrada said he would move to subpoena Sarah’s husband, Curlee, to testify at the next Blue Ribbon Committee hearing, noting that both should explain how they amassed such wealth.
The senator maintained that the inconsistencies raise red flags of corruption and tax evasion, which the Senate intends to fully investigate in aid of legislation. (PNA)
