Tougher penalties vs tobacco smuggling pushed

The national government losing billions in revenues because of the illicit tobacco trade has prompted two neophyte lawmakers to push for the passage of legislation that will impose tougher penalties, including life imprisonment, against tobacco smuggling.

House Bill 3917 seeks to amend Section 3 of Republic Act 10845 in a bid to make tobacco smuggling economic sabotage.

Should Congress and Malacañang agree to pass the measure into law, tobacco smugglers would face life imprisonment and a fine of twice the fair value of the smuggled agricultural product plus the aggregate amount of taxes, duties, and other charges avoided.

During the hearing over the weekend, PBA Partylist Rep. Margarita Nograles told the House Committee on Agriculture and Food that the government is losing an estimated P26 billion annually because of smuggled, unregistered, and unregulated cigarettes, which are being sold via container vans shipments.

"If this continues, it will affect our local tobacco industry and roughly 2.2 million kababayans will be affected," Nograles said.

Nograles and Ilocos Norte Rep. Sandro Marcos are the bill's authors.

In 2019, 2.2 million Filipinos relied on the tobacco sector as a primary income source, employing roughly 516,000 people.

"The significant impact was it accounts for 6percent of tax revenue in 2020, and 58percentof so-called sin tax receipts are being used to finance the national health budget — including the universal health care resulting in 8 million more low-income families receiving health care under this program," the lawmaker said.

In some areas, such as Zamboanga del Sur and Misamis Occidental, six out of every ten cigarettes sold in the market are obtained illegally, according to Nograles.

Deputy Speaker Kristine Singson-Meehan, on the other hand, said that smuggled and illegal cigarettes consume a large portion of the market, harming the legitimate industry on which farmers and workers rely for a living.

Meanwhile, Japan Tobacco International Philippines general manager John Freda has supported the bill's approval.

"We believe that the bill, if passed into law, will serve as a strong deterrent against smugglers and counterfeiters of tobacco products and will help stem the tide of illicit trade in this country," Freda said.

The panel, chaired by Quezon Rep. Wilfrido Mark Enverga, swiftly approved the bill and agreed to draft the committee report for plenary approval.