𝐏𝐁𝐁𝐌 𝐭𝐨 𝐁𝐨𝐂, 𝐁𝐈𝐑: 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐩 𝐮𝐩 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐦𝐮𝐠𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐨, 𝐯𝐚𝐩𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐬

Frederick Go (File photo)

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has urged the Bureau of Customs (BoC) and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to enhance their efforts in safeguarding the country’s tobacco industry against the smuggling of tobacco and vape products. During the 6th Private Sector Advisory Council-Agriculture Sector Group (PSAC-ASG) meeting, the President acknowledged the government’s existing anti-smuggling measures but emphasized the need for stronger enforcement by the BoC and BIR.

In response, Frederick Go, Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs, received assurances from the Department of Trade and Industry Consumer Protection Group that they would allocate a significant number of personnel to monitor the vape industry. BIR Commissioner Romeo Lumagui Jr. also informed the President that the agency is intensifying its crackdown on smuggled vape products and plans to implement a tax stamp system to identify illicit items.

The PSAC-ASG made several recommendations to protect the tobacco industry, including urging the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to release funds for the National Tobacco Authority (NTA) Sustainable Tobacco Enhancement Program (STEP). Additionally, they called for amendments to the Anti-Agri Smuggling Act of 2016 to cover tobacco products and proposed provisions related to minimum retail prices (MRP) and penalties for distributing and selling smuggled goods.