Yep, this again.
In February, President Rodrigo Duterte and the Filipino Government crushed a selection of cars that had been illegally smuggled into the country. It was meant to be a signal of defiance against corruption, but instead had many-a-petrolhead reeling.
There was irony in multiple ways. The Philippines is a country that struggles with poverty, and the money said cars (which included various luxury cars and a Corvette) could've generated, even merely in parts, would've been put to good use in multiple communities. The Philippines is also still regarded as being a pretty dang corrupt country regardless, even with Duterte at the helm.
And now, they've crushed even more smuggled four-wheeled machinery. An estimated US$5.2-million dollars worth.
The clip above profiles the full hour-long Philippine Government's Presidential Communications broadcast (the cringe-worthy carnage starts 20 minutes in, although skipping ahead means missing out on the incredibly dramatic intro).
The cars themselves are a step up over what was 'made an example of' last time. There's a Lamborghini Gallardo, multiple Nissan 350Zs, Mustangs, and AMGs, a Chevrolet SSR for some reason, and numerous Porsche 911s (including a few 996 Turbos and a pert 993 convertible). In total there are 68 cars and 18 motorbikes met their end.
Do these kinds of strongman barbarics actually deter criminals from smuggling cars? Who knows, but once again with poverty still present and with an approximate 12,000 people killed through the current president's 'War on Drugs' (man of those deaths being without a trial), one could easily argue that the Philippines should probably focus on some of its bigger problems.