Joselito Malig

Article (news)

Agatha Gregorio

ABS-CBN News

MANILA &mdash; Department of Finance (DOF) Undersecretary Karl Adriano said on Thursday they are proposing to increase the specific excise tax rate of distilled spirits, as the tax on fermented liquor based on alcoholic content is significantly higher.Under the DOF&rsquo;s proposal, the tax per proof liter on distilled spirits would be P74.16 this year and increase to P157.21 in 2027.&ldquo;It seems that the fermented excise tax per alcoholic content is around three times higher than distilled&hellip; The proposal of the DOF is only actually on the distilled spirits and by increasing the per proof liter of distilled spirits,&rdquo; Adriano told lawmakers during a House Committee on Ways and Means meeting to tackle bills increasing the excise tax on alcoholic beverages.Adriano added, &ldquo;So from 74 siya noong 2026, dadagdagan po namin siya to 157 by 2027 and then annual indexation na po siya starting there.&rdquo;This will bring in an average of nearly P7.7 billion in incremental revenue, according to the agency.But some House bills, if passed, are projected to generate a higher average revenue of over P17 billion.&ldquo;For the HB 5475, 5478, 5966, I would like to note that they have proposals to increase fermented liquors and a different classification for pre-mixed alcohol wherein pre-mixed alcohol will be taxed with an excise tax per liter. Hence the differences in the revenue impact, particularly mas mataas po &lsquo;yung sa House version na HB 5475 and others,&rdquo; Adriano said.However, Olivia Limpe-Aw of the Distilled Spirits Association of the Philippines (DSAP) pushed instead to retain RA 11467 regarding excise tax on alcohol products.&ldquo;Our request is really just to retain 11467 unless you are able to come up with a more transparent dynamic analysis which demonstrate that further increases will produce a superior sustainable fiscal outcome,&rdquo; Limpe-Aw said.&ldquo;You already sacrificed your distilled spirits by imposing a 22 percent ad valorem tax on us. And why during all these deliberations you purposely removed the 22 percent? That&rsquo;s a lot&hellip; If you want to compare then you compare the tax burden, but not the specific to specific only because that&rsquo;s very, very unfair to the distilled spirits industry,&rdquo; Limpe-Aw added.<div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/business/2026/8/4/higher-taxes-eyed-on-beverages-e-cigarettes-plastics-to-offset-tax-relief-1810">Higher taxes eyed on beverages, e-cigarettes, plastics to offset P67-B losses from tax relief</a></div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>INCREASING TAX ON ALCOHOL MOST CONSUMED BY YOUTH</div>For House Committee on Ways and Means Chairperson Rep. Miro Quimbo, youth alcohol consumption is an issue of the highest concern.And so there should be talks on determining what alcohol product the youth consumes most, which may lead to higher taxes, according to Quimbo.&ldquo;Pinakanakakabahala is &lsquo;yung pagtaas talaga ng alcohol use ng kabataan. So itong kailangan na pinag-uusapan na preliminarily is hanapin natin ano &lsquo;yung pinaka-common na nagagamit o kino-consume ng kabataan. And correspondingly, &lsquo;yun ang gawin nating mas mataas ang bawis or less affordable because we have seen that if these products are not affordable, especially for the target market, meaning the kids, for alcopops ay hindi sila bibili,&rdquo; Quimbo said.<div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/health-science/2025/10/28/group-stages-halloween-themed-protest-calling-for-higher-alcohol-taxes-1453">&#39;Alak so cheap, so deadly&#39;: Groups call for higher alcohol taxes</a></div>Adriano suggested that aside from taxation, they also review packaging and placement of alcoholic beverages in stores.&ldquo;Aside from taxation, maybe we can also take a look at the packaging and also &lsquo;yung advertising sa grocery, &lsquo;yung placement niya. Sometimes these alcopops are placed near orange juices,&rdquo; Adriano said.Limpe-Aw, however, called for discussions with retailers, as some are allegedly saying that fewer young individuals are drinking spirits.&ldquo;This one lang is based on the retailers like the supermarkets. What they&rsquo;re sharing with us naman is the reduction in consumption of spirits by the young people&ndash;mga Gen Z. Kasi now they&rsquo;re drinking more coffee than liquor. They even do rave parties with coffee,&rdquo; Limpe-Aw said.&ldquo;We have to reconcile&ndash;maybe talk also to the retailers kasi they&rsquo;re the ones telling us that the consumption of liquor in the stores is going down because certain group naman of young people are not drinking,&rdquo; Limpe-Aw added.

Department of Finance (DOF) Undersecretary Karl Adriano said on Thursday they are proposing to increase the specific excise tax rate of distilled spirits, as the tax on fermented liquor based on alcoholic content is significantly higher.

Department of Finance (DOF) Undersecretary Karl Adriano said on Thursday they are proposing to increase the specific excise tax rate of distilled spirits, as the tax on fermented liquor based on alcoholic content is significantly higher.

DOF proposes increasing excise tax rate of distilled spirits to match fermented liquor

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DOF proposes increasing excise tax rate of distilled spirits to match fermented liquor

Agatha Gregorio,

ABS-CBN News

Published September 03, 2026 08:34 PM PHT

Read More:

excise tax

DOF

alcohol

House of Representatives

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