CEBU CITY, Philippines - A day after the seizure of 21 used Korean cars in the Cebu port, two men tried to claim the cargo.They visited the Presidential Anti-Smuggling Group (PASG) office and claimed that the vehicles had complete papers, which were left in the port of origin. “The two representatives claimed that the shipment was legal and that they have papers,” said Ricardo Collantes, deputy director of the PASG Central Visayas.
He advised them to come back with the papers.
Collantes said he would also ask Trans-Asia Shipping Company if the shipper presented legal papers to the management before the vehicles were loaded on their vessel. Meanwhile, auto dealer Jose Manuel Cuenco urged the PASG to also look into cars sold in Cebu, which bear plate numbers from Western Mindanao and Northern Mindanao. Cars from these regions are sold and displayed in shops in Cebu.
Cuenco, president of the Cebu Auto Dealers Association (Cada), said used cars sold by second-hand dealers come from Korea, Japan and United States. He said PASG should also look into the documents, which the shipping company has prior to the shipment. “For second-hand vehicles, a shipper usually has registration from Land Transportation Office (LTO). For brand new vehicles, a shipper usually has a copy of the invoice,” he said. Cuenco said they also heard reports that there are smuggled cars coming from Cagayan De Oro.
Asked why these cars are registered in these regions, Cuenco said, “EO (Executive Order) 156 has been apparently implemented by LTO (Land Transportation Office) Cebu so they (smugglers) cannot register here already.” EO 156 bans the importation of second-hand vehicles into the country. “People are resourceful. They may find it easier to register vehicles there (in Mindanao),” he told Cebu Daily News.
Western Mindanao covers the provinces of Zamboanga del Sur, Zamboanga del Norte and Zamboanga Sibugay.
Northern Mindanao includes the provinces of Bukidnon, Camiguin, Lanao del Norte, Misami Oriental and Misamis Occidental. Meanwhile, Collantes said the shipper should present a certificate of registration (CR) and official receipt (OR) of registration of the vehicles to the shipping company.
If the papers aren’t there, the shipping company should be held liable for transporting the vehicles. Collantes said he would coordinate with the Land Transportation Office (LTO) to check if the temporary plate numbers of the seized vehicles were authenticated and registered.
The cars were shipped here through two Trans-Asia ships which docked at pier 5 last Monday. The bill of lading showed that the shipper of the vehicles was Choi Hun Pyong while the consignee was named as Nelson Caintapan. “I want the consignee to explain the legitimacy of the shipment,” Cuenco said. Meanwhile, Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña said he was not bothered if Cebu seems to be the haven of smuggled vehicles because this offers cheap vehicles to the people.
“It is the dream of every family to have a car, but how many could afford a P1.2 million car?” Osmeña said.
He said used cars from other countries are brought to the Philippines through Cebu because of its strategic location in trade. /Reporter Cris Evert B. Lato with Correspondent Chito O. Aragon and Reporter Marian Z. Codilla | 
