Talisay City, Cebu — On Monday morning, authorities confiscated over 65 right-hand drive vehicles imported from foreign countries.
In a joint operation, the Land Transportation Office and the National Bureau of Investigation raided an auto shop in Talisay City after intelligence reports confirmed that the shop is illegally operating, leading to the confiscation of said vehicles.
Under Republic Act 8506, o An Act Banning the Registration and Operation of Vehicles With Right-Hand Steering Wheel in Any Private or Public Street, Road, or Highway, the Philippines strictly imposes that right-hand drive vehicles are illegal in the country.
In a country where mere presence of said vehicles are ilegal, hence, importation, registration, and selling of these are also a violation to the law.
Based on the initial investigation of authorities, these vehicles were imported from other countries, assembled in the Philippines before they were sold.
Special Envoy on Transnational Crime Ambassador Markus V. Lacanilao supervised the raid after reports revealed that the foreign nationals may be leading the operation.
In the Cebu raid, a female Peruvian national was put under custody after her name showed up as the operator of the said autoshop.
Before the Cebu raid, there were also similar operations in Quezon City and Davao, where 40 right-hand drive vehicles were nabbed.
Authorities are now investigating a possible connection between the raided shops and the foreign nationals allegedly behind it.