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THE Cebu Auto Dealers Association (Cada) yesterday urged the Presidential-Anti Smuggling Group (PASG) to identify the six Cebu-based car smugglers that their chief mentioned in a House inquiry and file a case against them.
“They should identify and file a complaint against them (smugglers). Only then we can say that the government is serious in their campaign against smugglers,” said Jose Manuel Cuenco, Cada president.
Antonio Villar, PASG chief, testified in Manila during the congressional inquiry on the proliferation of car smuggling that he submitted the names of six smugglers in Cebu to Malacañang.
He said he received information that these smugglers were in cahoots with some government officials but that there was no “direct evidence” to confirm it.
Cuenco said he believed there were more than six car smugglers operating in Cebu.
But since the House committee on good governance chaired by Camiguin Rep. Pedro Romualdo started looking into car smuggling, he noticed the culprits were lying low.
“Smuggling in Cebu has calmed down,” said Cuenco.
Still, he said there were “hot cars” that were registered and issued plate numbers by the Land Transportation Office in Central Visayas (LTO-7).
He, however, could not give an estimate on the number of smuggled vehicles issued plate numbers since they were still gathering information.
Cuenco said the registration of these vehicles as fake.
When the owners verified the papers, they discovered that the registration numbers belonged to other vehicles, he said.
