Luxury cars worth $1.2 million crushed to pieces in Philippines. Here is why

The Filipino government made headlines in the recent past when it completely obliterated 17 luxury cars to send a message to the car smugglers in the country. And now it looks like the government is back at it again as on Friday (June 18th) it has destroyed 21 luxury cars costing an estimated $1.2 million (£874,665 / €1 million).

Part of the destroyed convoy included a McLaren 620R, a Porsche 911, and a Bentley Flying Spur. Moreover, models such as the Mercedes SLK, a Lotus Elise, a modified Hyundai Genesis coupe, a Toyota Solara, and 14 “Mitsubishi Jeeps" were also other major casualties of the theatrics show by the Filipino government.

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As per the Bureau of Customs, all these luxury cars were "smuggled" into the country by different consignees. They were seized on separate occasions from 2018 to 2020. These luxury cars were seized and destroyed “pursuant to Presidential Directive 2017-447, in which President Rodrigo Roa Duterte reiterated the need to destroy smuggled vehicles to send the strong message that the government is serious in its efforts against smuggling."

This was the second “condemnation activity" this year by the Filipino government, as previously 17 vehicles including a BMW Z1, a Ferrari 360 Spider, and a Lamborghini Gallardo, were obliterated by the Bureau of Customs on February 9th.

These are quite regular events as the government has previously wrecked luxury cars a number of times in the past, in a similar style. Other past casualties include Renault 5 Turbo, Mercedes SL55 AMG, Opel Manta, Maserati Quattroporte, and countless other vehicles.

The new round of destruction has evoked mixed reactions from people as some have questioned the system as to why these luxury vehicles were not auctioned for a good cause.