Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 17) — The illicit trade of tobacco could cost state coffers at least ₱60 billion in revenue this year, according to Albay Rep. Joey Salceda, chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means .
Salceda and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) have moved to round up those behind the illicit activity and prosecute them.
In a forum organized by policy group Action for Economic Reforms on Tuesday, Salceda said that online selling platforms have been a fertile ground for the sale of tobacco products under the guise of “Asian herbs” with price points as low as P350 per rim versus the P1,750-per-rim price tag of legitimate brands that bear the BIR stamp.
The lawmaker, who is also an economist, explained that they sourced the information after his staff tried to “access fake and unstamped cigars” online.
He estimated that there are two billion sticks sold illegally this year, which doubled from 2020 level.
Salceda said he will soon file a bill, noting that a separate proposed legislative measure — the anti-smuggling of agriculture products — did not include digital platforms as possible channels for smuggling.
“Dito ang platform Lazada, Shopee, Facebook marketplace,\” he said, \”we will provide NBI, DOJ the capacity na putulin [to block] any platform that sells cigarettes.\”
\”We will block any sale of cigarettes through digital platform,\” Salceda continued. \”It is a complete ban definitely of cigarette sales through digital platform.”
The lawmaker said any online platform, even if a buyer would claim he or she is 18 years old, would be blocked
Salceda noted that the fake cigarettes are being manufactured in or “rolled” within economic zones in Subic and Clark, although he declined to name the locators.
Meanwhile, BIR Commissioner Romeo Lumagui told the same forum that his agency is procuring a provider that will help the BIR digitally track and trace the movement of tobacco products on a wider scale.
Under the present setup, cigarette packs bear the BIR stamp that can be read just by the agency’s devices. What Lumagui wants is for the cigarette packs to have a QR code that consumers can scan and send to BIR to check if they are fake or not.
The agency wants to roll out the new cigarette tracking system by January 2025.
“We are shifting since gagawin natin to a digital track and trace solution, meaning hindi lang yan stamp, hindi na lang evidence of whether excise tax has been paid,\” he said.
[Translation: We are shifting since this will be done using a trace solution, meaning it won’t just be a stamp, not just proof whether excise tax has been paid.]
Using this method, Lumagui said the movement of cigarettes could be tracked using ordinary cellphones and not through any special gadget.
\”Once you do that, it will go to our system, makikita kung anong produkto saan galing,\” he said. \”If it’s illicit, definitely walang entry. If legit, may entry sa system namin.\”
[Translation: Once you do that, it will go to our system, we can see where the product came from. If it’s illicit, there won’t be an entry. If legit, then it will be in our system.]
Lumagui also said the public could be a partner in monitoring and they could make the report themselves.
