Dennis Gaviola

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David Dizon

ABS-CBN News

<div><img data-fr-image-pasted="true" src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/177166719205120260216-cigarette-warehouse-pampanga-MT3.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/> </div>For Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla, the fight against illicit tobacco isn’t just a routine anticriminal drive but a deeply personal crusade.Speaking during the 3rd International Tobacco Summit in Ortigas, Remulla recalled how Cavite used to be the smuggling capital for cigarettes in the Philippines in the 1960s before it was brought to an end by President Ferdinand Marcos, Sr. after arresting the actors.Two decades later, the fight came closer to home after his father, former Governor Juanito Remulla, nearly lost his life twice while leading the anti-tobacco smuggling drive in the province.“And now it&#x27;s in the year 2020s, my father and I have gone full circle because now I am in charge, but not only for my province, but for the entire country,” he told summit participants.“I am not a smoker, just to make it clear. None of my children smoke, my wife doesn&#x27;t smoke, wala po sa amin nag-cigarette. However, I value the industry and for its contributions, especially to the health care of our country. I may not be an advocate of your product, but I am an advocate of your industry and how it helps the country grow, especially in the health sector.”One traffic incident also revealed the immensity of the problem of tobacco smuggling.Remulla said a truck traveling along EDSA was accosted because of a defective light. When asked to open the truck, it was discovered that the vehicle was full of illicit tobacco.“From there, they tried to bribe my men because we went all the way to the compounding where they were parked. They tried to bribe our men too. I think something like 5 billion dollars just to let the entire warehouse go. And I told them, no deal. We&#x27;re going after all of you,” he said.“So in the span of when we started in October 2025 until today in June 2026, I think we have brought down the... we have apprehended over 8 billion pesos worth of illegal tobacco.”Remulla warned that the problem of illegal tobacco is not just a customs or border problem but a full-blown crisis.“If they&#x27;re able to manufacture illegal cigarettes and if they&#x27;re able to smuggle illegal cigarettes, what is to stop them from smuggling drugs? What is to stop them from smuggling other contraband? So might as well stop the entire ecosystem from the beginning rather than let it fester and just make cursory arrests and cursory charges. We are going after the industry,” he said.<div>THE SHADOW ECONOMY</div>Recent moves to take on the illicit tobacco trade have paid off, with <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/business/2026/2/21/bir-recent-anti-illicit-tobacco-ops-boost-anti-tax-evasion-drive-1800">P460.9 million worth of government revenues protected</a> as of February 2026, according to the Bureau of Internal Revenue. This, after law enforcers seized over P1 billion worth of smuggled cigarettes in the first six weeks of 2026.According to Philippine Tobacco Institute president Bayen Elero-Tinga, there is a massive fiscal leakage actively draining capital rom critical national priorities to the tune of P141 billion lost to the shadow economy.One of out every 4 cigarettes lit up bypasses the natural revenue system while illicit vapes - unregulated, untaxed electronic vapor devices- has achieved an astonishing 85 percent market penetration.Tinga said the crisis is driver by sophisticated transnational syndicates that manufacture counterfeit goods, exploit coastlines to smuggle contraband, flood retail with minimum-priced goods and threaten legally mandated floor prices for tobacco farmers. <div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17881877888301788187785110.png" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/></div><div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17881878312451788187828561.png" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/></div>Data from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, meanwhile, showed that most of the illicit cigarettes are being produced in legal public factories in other countries in ASEAN.  “Most are legally exported but illegally imported,” the UNODC said. “Many of these exports are not packaged for legal sale anywhere and so were illicit at the point of production.”In two Southeast Asian countries alone, the total number of “missing” cigarettes totaled 114,000 to 172,000 tons for the year 2024. For comparison, the entire legal cigarette market of the Philippines was about 41,000 tons in 2024, according to the UNODC. Cigarettes are very cheap to produce in the region, according to the  UNODC, &quot;so no amount of interdiction or excise reduction will make the illicit trade unprofitable.&quot; Research by the UNODC also showed 2 companies alone claim to produce up to 6 billion cigarettes a year.“The solution is to get the exporting countries in ASEAN to agree to stop exporting these cigarettes,” it said. UNODC said the ASEAN must have an agreement that agree on 3 things1.Import cigarettes directly from the manufacturer, not via intermediaries;2. Inspect all cigarette exports to ensure that they are packaging and tax compliant with the country of destination;3. Prohibit shipments to any country of volumes or brands that don’t align with the understood demand and rules of the receiving countries.According to Prosecutor General Richard Anthony Fadullon, a total of 45 complaints have been filed against 164 respondents for violation of the Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Act.Of the 45, ten complaints have led to appropriate charges filed before the Court of Tax Appeals while the other 35 were referred back for further case buildup for insufficiency.Rep. Rolando M. Valeriano, chairperson of the House Committee on Public Order and Safety, said that more than just seizing illegal cigarettes, the bigger challenge is how to make illegal trade “risky, costly, and ultimately unsustainable.”“A truckload of confiscated products may generate headlines for a day but a successful conviction creates a deterrent that lasts much longer. …Hindi dapat natatapos sa raid at seizure ang kuwento. Kailangan umabot sa prosecution. Kailangan umabot sa accountability. Kailangan maramdaman ng mga lumalabag sa batas na may kapalit ang kanilang ginagawa,” he said,.

For Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla, the fight against illicit tobacco isn’t just a routine anticriminal drive but a deeply personal crusade.

For Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla, the fight against illicit tobacco isn’t just a routine anticriminal drive but a deeply personal crusade.

P141 billion lost to shadow economy: War on illicit tobacco heats up

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P141 billion lost to shadow economy: War on illicit tobacco heats up

David Dizon,

ABS-CBN News

Published August 31, 2026 11:03 PM PHT

|

Updated August 31, 2026 11:07 PM PHT

Read More:

illicit tobacco

smuggling

jonvic remulla

cavite

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