Bicol congressman denies owning Ferrari: How I wish

11 January 2008

LEGAZPI CITY—ALBAY REP. AL FRANCIS Bichara said he did not own a Ferrari.

“How I wish. It’s a dream car,” said Bichara, who denied owning four of the 81 luxury cars seized in Makati last month.

Bichara, who flew to Albay yesterday from Manila, clarified that the cars he owned were two Jeep Cherokees, both of which were 1995 models, a Jaguar and a Volvo. He earlier denied owning a Lamborghini.

He said some of the cars he owned were bought second-hand.

Bichara said he purchased one Cherokee for only P300,000 and that he brought home the Jaguar after his stint as Philippine ambassador to Lebanon. He acquired the Volvo in the Philippines.

The Land Transportation Office said the congressman’s cars were legitimately registered.

Bichara said LTO chief Reynaldo Berroya erred in saying he owned a Ferrari as published in the Inquirer on Thursday.

The congressman said he had brought three of his cars to the high-end repair shop in Makati City last November for their annual maintenance check.

‘Character assassinated’

“I was just a regular customer in that shop but since I happened to be a politician, they are dragging my name into the false controversy,” Bichara said.

He added that the Presidential Anti-Smuggling Group (PASG) had violated his rights.

“I am being character assassinated here,” said the lawmaker, who called members of the PASG “publicity-hungry vultures.”

Bichara said he had talked to President Macapagal-Arroyo, warning her about what the PASG was doing. “I’m sure many others are complaining about the PASG.”

“You cannot just barge into any shop and impound all the cars there,” he said.

Bichara said that, noticeably, the PASG and the LTO were embroiled in a dispute, with the former accusing the latter of involvement in the smuggling of cars at the ports.

What’s wrong with LTO

Bichara said what was wrong with the LTO was that when the cars were cleared it no longer asked how much in taxes was paid by the owners to the Bureau of Customs.

“The problem lies with customs. When taxes for these cars are under-declared, that’s what the government has to watch out for,” Bichara said.

“Some of the cars seized (in the raid) were old cars, like my Cherokee, whose original owner, if you trace its history, is a consul. I could probably be its third or fourth owner.”

Berroya on Wednesday said a check of LTO records showed 47 of the seized cars had legitimate registration papers while 13 had not been issued license plates and 22 had no records. Reports from Ephraim Aguilar and Jaymee Gamil, Inquirer Southern Luzon