Marcos vows to combat illegal, smuggled e-vapes

President Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' Marcos Jr. vowed Monday to continue eradicating the proliferation of smuggled and illegal electronic vapes as he cited its risk to one's health.

Marcos made the commitment during the condemnation of seized smuggled electronic vapes, worth more than P3 billion, at the South Harbor in Port Area.

''Patuloy nating gagawin ito (We will continue to do this) and I just wanted to highlight the efforts that we are doing and the dangers that accompany these smuggled vapes. Far and beyond the loss in revenue to the government, more important to us are the health issues that these smuggled vapes raise,'' Marcos said in his brief message.

He said those behind the sale of these smuggled vapes usually target minors.

''Why is it so important that we do this? One, of course, because it is illegal. They have smuggled this in without any permits, any kind of documentation, at ipinagbibili na nga dito sa Pilipinas (and they are  selling these in the Philippines),'' Marcos said.

''And the very serious problem that accompanies that na walang documentation, na walang inspeksyon, dahil eh ‘yung iba rito na ininspeksyon natin ay nahanapan – may lason na nakapasok doon sa liquid na ginagamit na pang-vape. Kaya’t lalong-lalo na nakakabahala dahil kung titingnan natin ‘yung packaging – ‘yung packaging talagang para sa bata. Kaya ang target market nila bata,'' he added.

(And the very serious problem that accompanies that was there's no documentation, no inspection as some of those inspected contained poison. It's alarming since the packaging usually targets kids. The target market is the kids.)

Marcos lauded the efforts of government agencies in preventing the entry of these illegal vapes in the market, noting that ''the levels at which we have been able to find these smuggled goods and eventually destroy them has increased.''

''I think sa 2023, ang nahuli natin mga three point something billion yata ang halaga. Nag-doble ‘yun last year. And just from October to – from January to March, we are well on our way also to achieving even more seizures of these illegal vapes,'' the President said.

(I think in 2023, we confiscated at least P3 billion. It doubled last year. And just from October to – from January to March, we are well on our way also to achieving even more seizures of these illegal vapes.)

The Bureau of Customs conducted a public condemnation of the 2,977,925 pieces of seized electronic vapes, vape parts, and accessories worth P3.26 billion.

The items were confiscated through the conduct of 10 seizure operations led by Port of Manila (POM), Manila International Container Port (MICP), and the Intelligence Group (IG).

In a separate ambush interview, Finance Secretary Ralph Recto said these vapes were manufactured in China.

Customs Commissioner Bienvenido Rubio said the products not only violated the customs regulations but also pose serious risks to the health of consumers.

''Today's condemnation is a clear message to smugglers that the government is relentless in its pursuit of lawful trade,'' Rubio said in a separate press statement.

The latest haul of the BOC added to the seizure of P6.658 billion worth of illicit goods in 2024, according to Rubio, noting that in the first quarter of 2025, the agency has confiscated an additional P483.117 million worth of illegal vape products.  — RSJ, GMA Integrated News