By Paulo Loreto Lim

Following recent raids in Bacolod City and Bulacan that uncovered an ongoing trade of fake cigarettes throughout the country, Japan Tobacco (JT) International-Philippines General Manager Manos Koukourakis said the government could see massive losses in tax revenue due to counterfeit merchandise.

“The government may suffer losses worth P20 billion this year,” he said. “We, the legitimate tobacco industry, have a huge responsibility to support the government.”

The raid in Bacolod City, conducted by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), revealed a home in Barangay 35 and a Barangay Singcang-Airport warehouse were being used to supply fake cigarettes.

Meanwhile, the raid in Bulacan found around 50,000 to 60,000 cases of cigarettes with fake BIR stamps.

CIDG-Bacolod head, Police Senior Inspector Kim Dominic Gamboa, said the operation was conducted after receiving a complaint from the Bureau of Internal Revenue and representatives from Philip Morris Philippines, Inc. reporting fake cigarettes were being sold in the city./PLL, WDJ