Consumer group hits bill on tobacco smuggling

MANILA, Philippines – After Php155 million pesos worth of smuggled agricultural products were confiscated in raids conducted by the Bureau of Customs (BoC), the Philippine National Police (PNP), and the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), a consumer group on Sunday called on Sen. Lito Lapid to "focus on real consumer problems" instead of acting on behalf of the foreign tobacco industry and the local cigarette lobby.

Malayang Konsyumer (MK) spokesperson Atty. Simoun tagged Lapid's efforts to amend the Agri Smuggling Law and include raw and processed tobacco products as "anti-Filipino," lacking in real economic benefits, and detrimental to the health of millions of Filipinos.

Lapid filed Senate Bill (SB) 1812 last January, seeking to amend Republic Act 10845 or the 2016 Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act of 2016 to insert tobacco and tobacco products and place them in the same category as rice, sugar, vegetables and essential food items entitled to protection against smuggling.

The Lapid measure justifies the inclusion of tobacco in the protection list mainly because of foregone or lost revenue due to illicit trafficking of cigarettes.

"We question the timing of Senator Lapid's proposal. While smugglers and cartels bring in and hoard tons of agri goods, the good senator appears to be more focused on helping foreign tobacco companies, who have been pushing for cigarette protection since the third quarter of 2022," said Salinas. 

In recent raids, tons of agricultural products were seized from 24 warehouses, including 40 to 50 tons of imported onions and garlic worth Php40 million, and around 250 tons of imported onions and garlic worth Php40 million.

Salinas said that "cases like these need to be addressed, which is why we urge Sen. Lapid to focus on this problem and adopt a more pro-people stance and focus on protecting Filipino farmers and consumers." 

"He should instead fight for the retention of essential food and agri products as the Smuggling Law's core focus, as well as stiffer penalties for smugglers and cartels. Tobacco should be excluded from the list. Let foreign tobacco companies fight their own battles, they shouldn't be allowed to ride on serious problems like agri smuggling in order to advance their agenda," he stressed.

The group explained that the growth of domestic tobacco production has been almost stagnant. Market-wise, tobacco is also expected to experience negative growth in the next four years. The bulk of consumption relies on imported, already-processed tobacco products such as cigarettes, which are produced by foreign or foreign-controlled companies.

According to MK convenor Christian Real, "the amendments proposed by SB 1812 will not even benefit our local tobacco farmers directly. What the Lapid bill really protects through his proposed amendments are packed cigarettes from abroad brought into the country, not the domestically-produced raw material."

Real appealed to legislators to focus on food items, not products that are classified as vices and are considered harmful to health.

"Do we really want to give special protection to tobacco and tobacco products? Huwag na muna tayo sa smokers. Mas maraming problema ang consumers. Pagkain, hindi sigarilyo. The Lapid bill gives a very negative policy signal and it completely ignores efforts to protect our people, especially the youth, from the scourge of smoking and tobacco consumption."