THE government should continue clamping down on the illicit tobacco trade as the continued leakage of revenue hampers the delivery of much-needed services to the people, a lawmaker from one of the country’s major tobacco-producing provinces said.
“Dahil sa paglipana ng illegal tobacco products ay napipilayan ang pamahalaan at naaapektuhan ang kakayahan nitong maglingkod sa ating mga kababayan, lalo na ngayong nasa gitna tayo ng krisis,” Abra lone district Rep. JB Bernos said.
“At a time when government needs every centavo it can get to fund social services and other sectors, a stronger anti-smuggling drive would greatly help in ensuring the government and the people get their due from these products.”
Bernos’ call comes amid news that the Philippines lost about P141 billion in government revenue to illicit tobacco trade in 2024 and 2025.
According to a report released earlier by the EU-ASEAN Business Council (EU-ABC) and Euromonitor International Ltd., the country posted the third-highest revenue loss among six Southeast Asian countries covered by the study, after Indonesia and Malaysia.
The same report estimated that around 85.6% of e-vapes sold in the country last year were illicit products, while illicit cigarettes accounted for 25.3% of the local market, significantly higher than the ASEAN-6 average of 16.1%.
The lawmaker called for greater cooperation among the police, Bureau of Internal Revenue, Bureau of Customs, and local government units in enforcing more intensified anti-smuggling operations.
He also underlined the need for improved regional coordination among ASEAN members to address gaps in monitoring and enforcement particularly across borders, and continued investment in customs technology such as better digital track-and-trace systems.
“Our fight against illicit tobacco is not only for farmers and legitimate traders who are being displaced, but for the entire nation. Simply put, more revenue means more services.”
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