Health care vs big tobacco

Senator JV Ejercito, author of the Universal Health Care Law, voiced strong opposition to House Bill 11360, which proposes lowering excise taxes on tobacco and vape products.

He warned the move would gut funding for the national health insurance program.

“We have a duty to defend policies that protect public health,” Ejercito said, echoing Senator Win Gatchalian’s stance. The bill, critics argue, trades long-term health for short-term profit.

The UHC Law, signed in 2019, institutionalized PhilHealth, which receives a portion of excise-tax revenue from alcohol and tobacco products, as well as sources, such as fuel and luxury goods.

Ejercito explained that he called for the increase of taxes on cigarettes and other tobacco products to generate funding for the UHC law and to reduce smoking rates in the country.

 “If we lower these taxes now, we risk undoing the progress we’ve already made,” he said.

“According to health experts, the number of tobacco users in the country could increase by more than 500,000 by 2030. In addition, the funds allocated for Universal Health Care will also decrease,” he added.

He also rejected the claim that reducing taxes would help curb the illicit tobacco trade.

“Although some insist that lowering taxes is the solution to smuggling, this has not yet been proven effective in the last Senate hearing,” he said.

“Revoking the provisions of the UHC, including those on taxation, is turning our backs on the health of every Filipino,” he added.

Representatives Kristine Singson-Meehan, Rufus Rodriguez, and Mikaela Suansing, sponsors of the bill, argue that the measure aims to rationalize excise tax rates on tobacco and vape products to address revenue losses caused by illicit trade.

Under the proposed measure, excise tax rates will increase by 2 percent every even-numbered year starting 1 January 2026, and by 4 percent every odd-numbered year from 1 January 2027, until 31 December 2035.

Heated tobacco products will be taxed at P41 per pack, while cigarettes and vape products will carry a P66.15 levy per pack.