Sin tax advocates remain confident that the senators, who are expected to vote on Monday on the bill to increase cigarette taxes earlier certified urgent by President Rodrigo Duterte, will not be swayed by strong lobbying from tobacco companies and reject any offer or promise.
Dr. Anthony Leachon and Dr. Antonio Dans, lead convenors of the National Sin Tax Coalition expressed hopes that the reported intense lobbying of cigarette companies would not affect the votes of the senators on the measure.
The two doctors said that the funds to be generated from the increase provided under Senate Bill 2233 would be very crucial in addressing the P62-billion funding gap in the first year of implementation of the Universal Health Care program.
The increase, the doctors said, would also ensure a significant decrease of new smokers while dissuading new smokers from smoking.
In a letter sent to Senate President Vicente Sotto III, dated May 29, President Rodrigo Duterte certified to the “necessity to the enactment of Senate Bill 2233.”
In the same communication, the President underscored the urgent need to further protect the right of the health of the people and to maintain a broader fiscal space to support the effective implementation of the UHC Act.
Saying that “health is wealth,” Leachon, former president of the Philippine College of Physicians, said the onus lies in the votes of the senators.
He said that the senators will decide the destiny of the UHC and the healthcare of Filipinos for the next generation.
“That’s the defining moment. That’s a test of character and symbol of their commitment in their campaign promises,” added Leachon, formerly a PhilHealth director.
Dans, also of the UP College of Medicine, debunked the arguments of some senators questioning the increase, citing various reasons.
“What they said in 2012 against tobacco tax, the same people are saying again. The number of smokers will not go down? It did! The tobacco industry will collapse? It didn't! Government earnings will go down? It soared!” he said.
He said that the Philippine Tobacco Industry was only right on one thing—the illicit trade of cigarettes.
“And guess who the perpetrators were? Sila sila rin! Therefore illicit trade is not a warning from industry, it is a threat—a threat they implemented in other countries like Canada,” he said.
Data from the National Nutrition survey showed that the total number of smokers among the youth decreased by around 40 percent from 2008 to 2915. This can be attributed to the Sin Tax Law of 2012 which made cigarettes less significantly available to the youth.
Dans added that while he agrees with the senators that we must fight corruption, he said that the fear of corruption should not prevent them from doing what is right.
“Stop the old music. Do what is right. Pass tobacco tax NOW!” he added.
Meanwhile, health advocates commended Senator Sonny Angara, chairman of the Senate ways and means committee, which is hearing the bill on the increase of cigarette tax, for sponsoring the bill that is hoped to be passed and ratified before the 17th Congress adjourns next week.
Leachon said that by heeding the call of the health advocates, Angara has proven himself a “true health champion.”
They also welcomed the support of Senators Manny Pacquiao, Sherwin Gatchalian, Risa Hontiveros and outgoing Senator JV Ejercito.
Senate Bill 2233 proposes to raise the tax on cigarettes to P45 per pack in 2020, P50 in 2021, P55 in 2022 and P60 in 2023, with annual 5 percent increase thereafter.
Angara explained that the measure would be a key to discouraging Filipinos from smoking and generating revenues to help bridge the P62 funding gap for the first year of UHC implementation.
The Department of Finance downplayed the fears raised by Senator Richard Gordon, who was accused by Sin Tax advocates of deliberately delaying the deliberations on the bill, about the rise in the incidence of cigarette smuggling.
In insisting that the bill should instead be refiled in the next Congress after undergoing thorough scrutiny, Gordon said the government should focus on job generation like his RICH bill which was vetoed by the President. The RICH bill seeks to maximize the use of idle lands in Central Luzon for investments and tourism purposes.
The tobacco tax increase is a popular measure among Filipinos with a recent Pulse Asia survey saying that three out of four Filipinos believe that the tax on tobacco products must be increased.