Rampant sale of fake cigarettes continues

The rampant sale of fake cigarettes continues as illicit domestic cigarette prices have risen annually since the implementation of the Sin Tax Law.

Industry observers attribute the proliferation of fake cigarettes to the temptation of relatively larger profit margins seen by vendors to undercut taxes imposed by the law.

The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), however, maintains that vendors of fake cigarettes are not spared.

Recently, Philippine National Police (PNP) officers arrested more fake cigarette vendors in Brgy. Sta. Barbara, Victoria, Tarlac as part of a continuing joint government effort to curb the massive spread of illicit products.

Loriza Guerrero, 29, of Matias District, Talavera, Nueva Ecija; Romart Bondoc, 16, of Brgy. Pula, Talavera, Nueva Ecija; and a 13-year-old minor (name withheld) were arrested by police after getting caught in the act of selling fake Mighty Corp. and Philip Morris Fortune Tobacco Corp. (PMFTC) products.

Police officers PO3 Homer Puzon and PO1 Ely Cinense acted upon the immediate complaint from a concerned citizen of a suspicious unmarked Mitsubishi L300 FB vehicle with plate number RNF-913 in Victoria doing rounds selling fake cigarettes.

The apprehension yielded multiple boxes containing 600 reams of different Mighty and PMFTC brand cigarettes.

The suspects were then brought to the Victoria Police Station and police immediately contacted both cigarette companies. A Mighty representative later confirmed the products as fake.

The suspects were later charged with violating Section 155 ( trademark infringement) in relation to Section 170 of Republic Act 8293, otherwise known as the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines.

However, the 13-year-old was subsequently released from the PNP-Victoria station pursuant to RA 9344 (Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act) while the 16-yearold Bondoc was found to have acted with discernment of the crime charged against him.