The Bureau of Customs (BOC) said on Thursday that it is investigating a suspected scheme involving fake tax clearance certificates or unauthorized certificates of payment, which allegedly allowed certain imported luxury vehicles to be registered despite questionable or incomplete tax records and documents.
In an interview on DZRH's Dos Por Dos, Atty. Vincent Philip Maronilla, Assistant Commissioner of the BOC, confirmed that an internal probe is underway to determine whether Customs personnel may have been involved in the irregular issuance or transmission of documents.
"Ang mas madalas na issue na hinuhuli ng LTO at naveverify namin, ito pong problema na wala kaming iniisyu na certificate of payment pero ang nangyayari narerehistro," Maronilla said.
"Hindi namin alam kung may kinalaman din ang mga brokers na nakikipagdeal sa amin. In fact under investigation din namin ang scheme na ‘yan kung mayroon pong kasabwat sa bureau of customs," he added.
He also noted that gaps in the bureau’s audit trail suggest the possibility of system manipulation.
"I’m pretty sure pwedeng mayroon [kasabwat], ang problema namin nahihirapan kaming magkaroon ng audit trail doon sa paggamit nung system namin para magtransmit ng maaaring pekeng certificate of payment doon sa pakikipag-ugnayan namin sa LTO parang ganun ‘yung nangyayari," he pointed out.
"Kasi sa record namin wala talaga kaming makitang certificate of payment nitong mga kotse na ito. Pero sa record naman ni LTO may lumalabas sa kanilang certificate of payment," he said. "Either pineke po ‘yan o may kasabwat dito [BOC] na masyadong magagaling at hindi nakapaglagay ng audit trail."
Maronilla clarified that complaints have mostly come from grey-market dealers—importers of ultra-luxury or special-variant vehicles not sold through authorized Philippine distributors.
According to him, these dealers are often the source of documentation issues.
“Yung mga legitimate dealers hindi pa namin nakakausap… Usually, in the grey market doon po kami usually nakakakuha ng problema,” he said.
“Sa pagsusuri namin ng dokumento, madalas sila din yung may deperensya pag dating sa papeles na nagpapatunay na dumaan sila sa tamang proseso ng Bureau of Customs," Maronilla added.
To prevent internal breaches, Commissioner Ariel Nepomuceno has ordered enhancements to the BOC’s system security.
These include a one-time password (OTP) protocol for personnel accessing sensitive systems, ensuring that every action leaves a clear audit trail.
“Hindi na ‘yung password na nananakaw at maaaring ma-manipulate. Para may audit trail kami pagdating doon sa paggamit ng sistema,” Maronilla said.
Maronilla noted that while legitimate dealerships dominate the general high-end vehicle market, grey-market importers capture a significant portion of the ultra-luxury category, particularly rare variants not officially sold in the Philippines.
