In a turnaround from his stance to destroy all smuggled luxury vehicles, President Rodrigo Duterte now wants to give some illegally imported Hummers to the police and military for their use.

“Now meron doon na hindi ko ipinasira. Iyong vans pati ‘yung Hummer [There are some I ordered not to be destroyed — the vans and the Hummer],” Duterte said in a speech before the Joint 68th National Security Council and 69th National Intelligence Coordinating Agency Founding Anniversary on Tuesday. “But I said do not destroy it because I’ll give it to the military and the police for their use.”

Ten smuggled Hummers which were not destroyed are under government custody, Duterte added.

“Para naka-Hummer na kayo. Kami ilang taon na namin ‘yan naglalaway-laway kami hindi kami maka… Tapos ‘yung mga vans, because they are within the vicinity of the local governments, Cagayan ‘yan eh. Eh ‘di paghati-hatian na lang nila doon kung aabot,” he said.

[Translation: So that you’ll have Hummers. We’ve been wanting that for so long. And the vans, because they are within the vicinity of the local governments, you can split among yourselves.]

On Monday, Duterte witnessed the destruction over ₱290 million worth of luxury vehicles seized by the government in Cagayan.

Last February, Duterte watched as 20 luxury cars costing a total of ₱61.6 million were destroyed at the Bureau of Customs. The President said he wants to wreck them as did not want the vehicles sold at auctions, as they can possibly go to the hands of syndicates.

Featured image from Robinson Niñal Jr./ Presidential Photo

President Rodrigo Roa Duterte inspects one of the contraband luxury vehicles before they were subjected to condemnation and public destruction at Port Irene in Sta. Ana, Cagayan on Monday.