Some luxury cars seen arriving at Discaya’s compound in Pasig City

Some luxury vehicles were seen arriving at the compound of the Discayas in Pasig City on Tuesday evening, this was after the Bureau of Customs (BOC) implemented a search warrant in the property earlier in the day.

According to Jun Veneracion’s report in “24 Oras,” some of the vehicles that arrived are among the 12 luxury cars covered by the search warrant. These include a Bentley and a Toyota Tundra.

It is not clear where these vehicles came from that are the subjects of a search warrant from the court to determine if the proper taxes were paid.

The objective of the search conducted by the Bureau of Customs is to locate the luxury cars owned by the Discaya family in their compound in Pasig City.

This came after Sarah Discaya admitted during a Senate hearing yesterday that their family has 28 luxury cars.

In the search warrant in the possession of the BOC, 12 of the cars are included.

BOC Commissioner Ariel Nepomuceno said they will see if the cars of the Discayas are in the compound.

But the authorities only found two luxury cars covered by the warrant inside the compound - a Maserati and a Land Cruiser. While they also found an Cadillac Escalade, this not included in the search warrant.

The BOC wants to find out if the proper taxes were paid in purchasing these cars.

“Huwag tayong mangamba dahil mahuhuli at mahuhuli saan man po yan itinatago. Kung itinatago man, ini-encourage ko ang pamilya ng Discaya na voluntarily i-surrender na nila ‘yan sa Bureau of Customs,” said Nepomuceno.

(Let's not worry because they will be caught and found no matter where they are hidden. If they are indeed hidden, I encourage the Discaya family to voluntarily surrender them to the Bureau of Customs.)

There are some vehicles that were not found in the compound but are included in the list in the search warrant and were shown in a video of GMA Integrated News last October 2024, include the Rolls Royce Cullinan, a Bentley two Lincoln Navigators, and a GMC Yukon.

The Maybach that Sarah mentioned in the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee was not in their compound.

Personnel from the BOC and the police force have been outside the Discaya’s compound since Monday evening. But they failed to serve the warrant then, the report said.

Maintenance, preemptive measures

Meanwhile, the camp of the Discayas said it was just coincidence that most of the luxury cars were not in the compound.

“Ginagamit ho kasi yung ibang sasakyan. So yung iba naman for maintenance, yung iba naman nailagay sa isang lugar kasi preemptive measure sila ngayon dahil nagbabaha dito sa Pasig,” said Atty. Cornelio Samaniego III, the family spokesperson. “Hindi po itinatago. Bakit itatago eh legal yung mga ‘yun.”

(The other cars are being used. Some are for maintenance, and others were placed in a different location as a preemptive measure because there is flooding here in Pasig…They are not being hidden. Why would we hide them when they are legal.)

Car dealers

The Discaya camp also said the vehicles were legally purchased through car dealers such as the Speed Seven Corporation, AutoArt Corporation, and Frebel Import and Export Corporation.

“Wala naman hong nagbabawal na bumili ka ng ganitong sasakyan na mamahalin. Wala po,” said Samaniego.

(Nothing prohibits you from buying this kind of expensive vehicle. None.)

GMA Integrated News checked on one of the addresses of AutoArt in White Plains, Quezon City. But it was closed and there were no signages found.

GMA Integrated News is also trying to reach out to Frebel and Speed Seven.

During Monday's hearing, Senator Vicente Sotto III said that Frebel was allegedly involved in the smuggling of Bugatti cars last year.

Contractors, personalities

Meanwhile, the BOC said it will also check other contractors and personalities involved in anomalous flood control projects if they own luxury vehicles.

“Nagkataon lang ito’y nauna nating nakuhanan ng search warrant at obviously ito yung sa social media na napaka high profile….Hindi lang Discaya ang ating tinitignan,” said Nepomuceno.

(It just so happened that we were able to get a search warrant for this one first and obviously it's the one that is very high-profile on social media... We are not just looking at the Discayas.)

Senate Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada on Tuesday said he received information from the LTO that the Discayas own 80 vehicles, 40 of which are luxury cars.

The BOC also said they are coordinating with the PNP Highway Patrol Group to intercept the other vehicles owned by the Discaya family that are subjects of a search warrant if these are seen traveling. — Vince Angelo Ferreras/BAP, GMA Integrated News