Aquino said it was security concerns and not the controversy surrounding the luxury vehicle, which he bought second hand, that prompted him to get rid of the white Porsche."It's putting an unnecessary risk on the people who are guarding me. It is too exposed and it is like an advertisement, saying, 'Here I am. I am most vulnerable here'," the president told reporters.
"I just relegated it to the garage and it would deteriorate if it is not used. So it’s time to let somebody (else) experience it," said the 51-year-old bachelor.
Aquino would not reveal who bought the car or for how much. But he said he sold the vehicle -- which press said was a 2007 model -- for "exactly the same price that I bought it for."
Now that he has disposed his Porsche, the President said he hopes the issue will finally die down.
Deputy Presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte told radio dzMM that the president sold his Porsche for the same price he bought it--P4.5 million.
Valte said the sale was a private transaction, and they do not know who bought the Porsche.
She said the decision to sell the luxury car was due to security reasons.
"It's not a car designed to secure the president," she said.
A head of state driving a white Porsche would have posed security risks, she added.
Valte said the president sold it for the same price since he was not looking to make money out of it.
Aquino's purchase of the Porsche was one of the reasons for the drop in his ratings in his first year as president.
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