THE Department of Finance (DOF) said cigarette packs seized from the recent warehouse raid in Bacolod City bore brands that include Marvel and Jackpot.
Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said the DOF already discussed with the Bureau of Customs (BOC) the need to implement tighter border security to help fend off instances of cigarette smuggling in the country.
“As I told you, one of the items we discussed with [Customs] Commissioner Isidro Lapeña was we will have an increase of smuggled cigarettes,” Dominguez told financial reporters.
In August Bacolod City Police Office and Criminal Investigation and Detection Group operatives confiscated fake cigarettes in a cigarette-manufacturing factory at Purok Riverside in Bacolod City.
Of the 43 workers rescued in the warehouse, 14 were minors, with their hometown listed as Iligan City, Lanao del Norte.
“They were 15 to 17 years old. They were turned over to the DSWD [Department of Social Welfare and Development],” DOF Undersecretary Antonette C. Tionko said.
Based on the report by the Bacolod City Permits and Licensing Division, the fake cigarette factory had no business permit, with the building formerly owned by a sugar manufacturer who sold it to a businessman, who leased out the space.
“Actually, those are counterfeit. They are counterfeiting the old brands of Mighty Corp.,” he said.
The Bacolod City Police Office said the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Region 12 asked for police assistance to check the facility shortly after
its discovery.
In March this year, the BIR filed its first case against Mighty Corp. with a P9.56-billion tax-evasion case before the Department of Justice over the company’s reported use of fake tax stamps.
It was charged for unlawful possession of articles subject to excise tax without payment of the tax, and for possessing false, counterfeit, restored or altered stamps, in violation of the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997.
The Philippine Competition Commission approved the sale of Mighty Corp. to Japan Tobacco International Inc. earlier this month.