Tobacco farmers dismayed over hiked excise tax
THE health advocates were happy but
not the tobacco farmers’ group that was dismayed at the Congress’ passage of
the bill increasing the excise tax on cigarettes and other tobacco products.
In a Bombo Radyo Dagupan interview, Saturnino Distor, president of Philippine
Tobacco Growers Association Inc. from the tobacco-producing town of San Fabian town,
said his members are saddened by the bill’s approval “without considering many
of our sentiments”.
Comparing their plight to a boxing
bout where Sen. Manny Pacquaio’s time to prepare for his fight, Distor said the
tobacco farmers were not given the chance to present and hear their arguments.
He said Congress’s desire to fund the Universal Health Care (UHC) will result
in decreased tobacco production, and eventually lesser revenues for the
purpose.
“So how will they sustain the funds for UHC if there is lower production this
coming year?,” Distor asked.
He expressed wonder why the focus of increase of the so-called sin taxes has
been on tobacco only while others like alcohol was untouched.
“We, tobacco farmers, feel like we are the goose that lays the golden eggs but
why are they not taking care of us so that we can produce more eggs?,” he
lamented.
Distor further said tobacco farmers provide billions of cigarette taxes that go
to government coffers yet they were not given the chance to air their
sentiments.
Distor said more than two million Filipinos are working in the industry, who,
for generations, rely on it.
In an earlier interview with Pangasinan media, Distor pointed out the fast
decline of tobacco production citing data from the National Tobacco
Administration that showed that from 68 million kilograms of tobacco production
in 2013, it decreased to 48 million kilograms in 2017 because of successive tax
increase.
He said the series of increase in tobacco taxes since 2013 will eventually
result in lower revenues for the UHC. (PhilStar
Wire Service)
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