MANILA(January 26) — The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), in coordination with the Philippine National Police–Highway Patrol Group (PNP-HPG), seized smuggled cigarettes worth ₱516.79 million in Valenzuela City on Friday, as lawmakers renewed calls to tighten enforcement at key Mindanao ports long identified as vulnerable to illicit tobacco entry.
Armed with mission orders, BIR and HPG operatives recovered truckloads of unregistered cigarettes from a storage facility in Barangay Gen. T. de Leon.
BIR Commissioner Charlito Martin Mendoza said the operation was launched following information relayed by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) that illicit tobacco products were being stockpiled at the site.
Authorities recovered more than 1,274 master cases of cigarettes loaded in trucks after determining that the products lacked the mandatory internal revenue stamps required under the National Internal Revenue Code, indicating non-payment of excise taxes.
The BIR said the seized products carried an estimated excise tax deficiency of ₱516,795,424.60, inclusive of penalties and surcharges.
The agency described the operation as the first joint enforcement action against the illicit cigarette trade for 2026.
“It signals the BIR’s renewed and intensified commitment to combating tax evasion and the illicit tobacco trade,” the BIR said in a statement.
Citing an ABS-CBN News report, authorities said information on the illicit shipment was obtained from two Chinese nationals earlier arrested in Quezon City.
Acting Philippine National Police chief Lt. Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. said intensified anti-smuggling operations are expected nationwide.
“Smuggling is not a victimless crime. It deprives the government of revenue and fuels other illegal activities,” Nartatez said.
Mindanao ports under scrutiny
Meanwhile, Senate finance committee chair Sherwin Gatchalian said the seizure highlights persistent enforcement gaps at southern maritime entry points, particularly in Mindanao, which he described as a major transit corridor for smuggled tobacco.
Speaking over radio dwIZ, Gatchalian said he filed Senate Resolution 250 seeking a Senate investigation into alleged collusion among smugglers, politicians, and rogue law enforcement personnel.
“This time, we would like to look at personalities who are potential protectors of syndicates,” Gatchalian said, citing findings from a previous Senate ways and means committee probe on sin tax leakages.
He said discussions with law enforcement agencies pointed to ports in Zamboanga City, as well as coastal entry points in Tawi-Tawi and Sulu, as long-standing areas of concern due to their proximity to Malaysia and Indonesia and the presence of numerous informal landing sites.
Gatchalian also said maritime routes passing through the Davao Gulf have been flagged in past enforcement reports as potential transit corridors, particularly for cargo later transported by land to major markets in Luzon and the Visayas.
“There are politicians’ names being brought up, but we need to vet these,” Gatchalian said, declining to identify those allegedly involved.
He further expressed alarm over reports that some members of the security sector may be acting as financiers of smuggling operations, citing earlier allegations by PNP-HPG Director Brig. Gen. Hansel Marantan.
“Tobacco smuggling can only happen with collusion between politicians and law enforcement agencies,” Gatchalian said.
Customs officials have previously acknowledged that securing southern ports and coastlines remains a challenge due to the volume of maritime traffic and the number of small, privately operated ports, prompting calls for tighter coordination among the Bureau of Customs, BIR, PNP, Philippine Coast Guard, and local governments.
Revenue impact
As disclosed during the earlier Senate probe, excise tax collections declined to ₱130.9 billion from January to November 2024, down from ₱134.9 billion in 2023, ₱160.3 billion in 2022, and ₱176.5 billion in 2021.
Despite a contraction of the overall cigarette market—from 103.3 billion sticks in 2014 to 55.6 billion sticks in 2023—the market share of illicit cigarettes rose from 12.2 percent to 19.8 percent over the same period, underscoring the scale of the enforcement challenges.
