BIR destroys over P1B of cigarettes, cigarette-making machines

More than P1 billion worth of illegal cigarette-making machines and counterfeit cigarettes had been destroyed by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).

These were seized from illicit manufacturing facilities uncovered in Cagayan de Oro City in Misamis Oriental and in Tacloban and Ormoc City in Leyte.

They machines and cigarettes were destroyed in a waste disposal facility in Cagayan de Oro, according to a BIR report to Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III.

Also destroyed were raw materials and packaging supplies, BIR Deputy Commissioner Arnel Guballa reported to Dominguez during a recent Department of Finance Executive Committee meeting, the bureau said Wednesday.

“The destruction activity, spearheaded by the BIR Operations Group and its Strike Team, was witnessed by representatives from the Commission on Audit, National Bureau of Investigation, local government units, local press and revenue regional offices,” Guballa said in a statement.

Illegal tobacco trade has shifted from smuggling to producing counterfeit brands using undocumented making machines acquired mostly from China, the BIR revealed in an earlier report.

During President Rodrigo Duterte’s 5th official visit to China, an Intergovernmental Implementation Agreement was signed by Customs Commissioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero and Minister Ni Yuefeng of China.

The agreement defined the scope and guidelines to strengthen the cooperation and mutual assistance on Customs matters between the two countries, BIR said.

Dominguez noted the agreement also covers the commitment of the General Administration of Customs of China to assist the Bureau of Customs in monitoring and stopping the shipment of unauthorized cigarette-making machines from China to the Philippines.

During Duterte’s visit to China, Guerrero and Chinese Commerce Minister Zhong Shan signed a separate agreement on Beijing’s donation of four mobile X-ray and two luggage inspection systems to the Philippines. —Joviland Rita/VDS, GMA News