Philippines Government Crushes 14 More Smuggled Luxury Cars With a Bulldozer
Oh yeah, that’ll show…someone.
The Philippines continued its quest to eradicate every cool car in the Asian archipelago this week, with controversial President Rodrigo Duterte staging another public ceremony where authorities used heavy construction equipment to crush 14 perfectly good luxury cars that had been smuggled into the country.
State broadcaster RTVM reports the clinically-named "Condemnation and Public Destruction of Contraband Vehicles" took place at Port Irene in Cagayan province on Wednesday. Among the cars selected for annihilation were a Maserati Quattroporte, a BMW B12 Alpina, a Porsche 911 GT3, a BMW Z1, an Opel Manta, a Renault R5, and a two-door Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen.
As with last month's crushfest, officials invited a host media and other onlookers to join Duterte in wearing a hardhat and watching a bulldozer and a backhoe flatten the cars with brutal efficiency. The vehicles had been illegally imported into the country from Japan and Korea, violating a law that prohibits importing used cars except in very specific circumstances. The ban is designed to prop up the domestic car sales industry.
"The destruction of these contraband luxury vehicles signifies our strong resolve to restore good governance, preserve our nation’s dignity, and safeguard our people’s welfare," Duterte said at the event.
It goes without saying that crushing $500,000 worth of perfectly functional and undeniably cool cars is wasteful and unproductive. However, it would appear that the Philippine government is just getting started: A further 841 vehicles are slated for destruction once all the paperwork is processed, according to RTVM. So don't be surprised if these amateur Monster Jam knockoff sessions continue in the near future.
