Arrest order for cigarette maker

President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered the arrest of Alex Wongchuking, owner of local cigarette manufacturer Mighty Corp., because of economic sabotage, Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo said on Tuesday.

“He (King) was ordered arrested by the President because of economic sabotage. He is doing many (illegal) things and he is proud to say that he can bribe all officials in our country,” Panelo said in a statement.

Duterte’s order came after the Bureau of Customs (BOC) seized P2-billion worth of smuggled and fake cigarettes, including cigarette brands yielding fake tax stamps affixed on Mighty products, in a series of raids conducted last week.

The local cigarette firm, in a statement, said “it is not in the business of producing fake cig- arette products, as its own local brands are well-accepted by its customers.”

Finance Secretary Carlos Domiguez III had already instructed the BOC and the Bureau of Internal Revenue to file appropriate charges against the individuals and companies proven to be the owners of the smuggled tobacco products.

The two tax-collection agencies confiscated 11,044 master cases of Mighty cigarettes, amounting to P215 million in market value in General Santos City. On top of it, some 62,200 master cases worth P1.98 billion were also seized in San Simon, Pampanga.

Wongchuking appeared at the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Tuesday.

Wongchuking’s lawyer Atty. Siegfred Fortun said that his client will not be arrested.

Fortun said that no complaint has been filed against Wongchuking and the latter appeared at the DOJ only to speak with Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre concerning his alleged violation of tax laws. /