3 of 7 Discaya luxury cars sold, raise P38M in auction
They were once touted as trophies in a conjugal “rags-to-riches” story that later outraged the nation—something the new owners may or may not want to dwell on once they’re back on the road.
Three out of seven luxury cars once owned by controversial contractor couple Curlee and Sarah Discaya were successfully sold to two bidders at a public auction held by the Bureau of Customs (BOC) on Thursday.
Simplex Industrial Corp., represented by Danny Paz, successfully bid for a Mercedes-Benz G500 Brabus (2019) for P15,500,000. Its floor price was P7,843,239.43.
The same company also won the bidding for a Mercedes-Benz G63 AMG (2022) for P15,611,710. The vehicle’s floor price was P14,104,768.
A Lincoln Navigator (2021) was sold to Lesentrell Jewelries, represented by Ladislao Matawa, for P7,100,000. It had a floor price of P7,038,726.14.
The auction raised a total of P38,211,710 in revenues for the BOC, according to Commissioner Ariel Nepomuceno, to be fully remitted to the Bureau of Treasury.
BOC spokesperson Chris Bendijo said the four cars remaining with the bureau after a failed bidding will be reauctioned.
The fleet was put up for bidding after being seized by the government in September from the Discaya couple, the Pasig City-based owners of several companies that bagged multibillion-peso public works contracts with the government.
Earlier glimpse
A massive corruption scandal involving “ghost,” substandard or overpriced flood control projects blew wide open in August and had since put the couple in the spotlight.
After facing congressional investigations and a failed bid to enter the Witness Protection Program, they are now among the respondents in criminal complaints filed at the Ombudsman, along with several lawmakers, public works officials, and other contractors.
The public, however, had an earlier, tantalizing glimpse of the luxury cars in September 2024 and in January 2025, when two magazine shows featured the couple as a rags-to-riches story and showed their large garage. The spouses then casually acknowledged their being DPWH contractors as key to their affluence.
As the corruption probes triggered mass outrage, a total of 13 vehicles were seized from the Discayas by the BOC, seven of which were found to have no import and payment records.
Voluntary forfeiture
The couple filed for voluntary forfeiture and did not contest the seizure of the seven vehicles. Remaining unsold on Thursday were a Toyota Tundra (2022), a Toyota Sequoia (2023), a Rolls-Royce Cullinan (2023), and a Bentley Bentayga (2022).
In all, the seven vehicles were valued at more than P103 million.
In a statement issued on auction day, Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon, who has been vocal about having the Discayas prosecuted, said: “That’s our money, so there’s anger (over how it was spent).”
“But at the same time, there’s gladness now that we’re recovering it and we’re getting justice, all after they’ve shown them off on TV,” Dizon said. “We’re gradually getting them back now, but this is already the beginning.”
Regarding the next auction, Bendijo said the BOC may have to recompute the floor price to a much higher depreciated value to draw in more interested buyers for the remaining four cars.
“What we used to determine the price in this auction was 10-percent depreciation. But under the rules, we’re allowed to maximize that to 16 percent,” Bendijo told the Inquirer.
Bendijo said the bureau vets interested buyers by requiring proof of tax payments, a clean company track record, or a declaration that there’s no conflict of interest.
“Because, for example, if they submit an income tax return showing tax payments that are so small, then where does their money come from? That raises a red flag in the BOC,” he said
Importers and consignees with a record linking them to smuggling and other offenses are also banned from joining the auction, he added. —WITH REPORTS FROM KATHLEEN DE VILLA AND NYAH GENELLE DE LEON
