Bureau of Internal Revenue and Highway Patrol Group operatives seized smuggled cigarettes valued at P516.79 million in Valenzuela City. The raid, prompted by a tip from the Department of the Interior and Local Government, uncovered over 1,274 master cases without mandatory tax stamps. Senate finance committee chair Sherwin Gatchalian has filed a resolution to probe potential involvement of politicians and law enforcers in the illicit trade.
On Friday, Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and Highway Patrol Group (HPG) operatives raided a storage facility in Barangay Gen. T. de Leon, Valenzuela, armed with mission orders and acting on a tip from the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) about illicit tobacco products. They recovered over 1,274 master cases of smuggled cigarettes loaded in trucks, which lacked the mandatory internal revenue stamp required by the National Internal Revenue Code, indicating unpaid excise taxes.
BIR Commissioner Charlito Martin Mendoza stated that this marked the first joint enforcement action against the illicit cigarette trade in 2026, signaling the agency's renewed commitment to combating tax evasion and the tobacco black market. The estimated excise tax deficiency, including penalties and surcharges, stands at P516,795,424.60. According to an ABS-CBN News report, the tip originated from two Chinese nationals arrested in Quezon City.
Acting Philippine National Police chief Lt. Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. announced that the public can expect intensified operations against tobacco smuggling, adding that it 'is not a victimless crime' as it deprives the government of revenue and fuels other illegal activities.
Meanwhile, Senate finance committee chair Sherwin Gatchalian believes politicians and rogue law enforcers are colluding to smuggle illicit cigarettes and evade sin taxes. He filed Senate Resolution 250 for a probe, following his previous ways and means committee investigation into sin tax leakages. 'This time, we would like to look at personalities who are potential protectors of syndicates,' Gatchalian said on radio dwIZ. He mentioned meetings with law enforcement agencies regarding the involvement of uniformed personnel and politicians in Mindanao, a key smuggling route to Malaysia. Gatchalian expressed alarm over 'security forces' acting as financiers, as alleged by PNP-HPG director Brig. Gen. Hansel Marantan, and noted that 'Tobacco smuggling can only happen with collusion between politicians and law enforcement agencies,' based on prior findings.
BIR data shows excise tax collections declined to P130.9 billion from January to November 2024, compared to P134.9 billion in 2023, P160.3 billion in 2022, and P176.5 billion in 2021. The illicit trade's market share rose from 12.2 percent in 2014 to 19.8 percent in 2023, even as the overall cigarette market shrank from 103.3 billion sticks to 55.6 billion sticks.
