The country is losing at least PHP 30 billion (USD 615.7 million) due to cigarette smuggling each year claims Albay Rep. Joey Salceda who serves as the chairperson for the House committee, reports Inquirer.net.

Salceda was speaking during the hearing of the House committee on ways and means and called on the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), Bureau of Customs (BOC), and Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) to crack down on illicit cigarette trade.
In his statement, Salceda asked the BIR to reverse Revenue Regulation 9, which exempts cigarette manufacturers from tax stamps for exports and instead requires them to have unique identification codes (UIC), reports Inquirer.net. According to Salceda, this tactic relies on self-declaration and regulation, which in turn makes it highly prone to abuse.
“It’s a regulated product, and a violation of tax and trade rules on cigarettes is a malum in se (wrong or evil in itself). It is bad on its own. So, we have to be stricter with the regulatory pressure,” Salceda said.