ReutersWhile there are undoubtedly lots of people who would love to own millions of dollars worth of supercars, I bet there are just as many who’d love to destroy them all too.
And when I say destroy, I don’t mean take them out on a racing track and ‘absolutely destroy it, mate’, I mean literally physically destroying the cars with a huge-ass bulldozer. You’ve got to admit, there’s a certain satisfaction at seeing something shiny and expensive destroyed (as long as it’s not yours, of course…)
Well, if you work hard enough and become president of a country, you might be lucky enough to do just that.
Philippines’ president Rodrigo Duterte recently destroyed 68 supercars and eight motorcycles which had been seized by customs after they were illegally smuggled into the country.
The cars and bikes, including Lamborghinis, Mustangs and Porsches, were reportedly worth a total of 298 million piso (£4.26 million).
The president wore a white hard-hat as he watched and cheered on the destruction of the luxury vehicles in Sta Ana, Cagayan, in northern Philippines, Daily Mail reports.
The destruction is part of a wider crackdown on smuggling and corruption in the country. In a speech before the carnage took place, Duterte admitted he knew he would not be able to eradicate the problem fully, but destroying the contraband was an important part of his plan.
He said:
I did this because you have to show to the world that you have a viable place of investment and business.
And the only way to show it is that you are productive and that you have the economy, to absorb the productivity of the population.
ReutersDuterte added that the first part of his plan is to ‘establish law and order’ across the country.
The vehicles destroyed yesterday, July 30, were just a small part of 800 cars and bikes seized by port authorities in Cagayan, according to a statement from the president’s office.
This isn’t the first time ol’ Duterte the destroyer has had his way with contraband cars.
Last year, the Philippines Bureau of Customs seized £2.11 million worth of smuggled vehicles. In February this year, Duterte ordered the demolition of dozens of luxury cars, including a Corvette Stingray thought to be worth around £850,000 alone.
Seized vehicles used to be impounded then auctioned off, with the government taking the proceeds. However, these acts of destruction have made it very clear Duterte would rather get rid of the vehicles completely instead of allowing the government to profit from crime.
Yesterday, Philippines police vowed to intensify the fight against crime and drugs, in line with the president’s aims.
In a news conference, police chief Oscar Albayalde said:
Surgical and chilling will be the trademark of the reinvigorated anti-illegal drugs and anti-criminality campaign.
The police chief added there would be ‘frightful’ consequences for anyone continuing to sell drugs, and there would be renewed focus and intensity on the crackdown on drugs in the country.
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Charlie Cocksedge is a journalist and sub-editor at UNILAD. He graduated from the University of Manchester with an MA in Creative Writing, where he learnt how to write in the third person, before getting his NCTJ. His work has also appeared in such places as The Guardian, PN Review and the bin.