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The Department of Health (DOH) is also of the view that the Abaya bill will curb smoking particularly at the lower end of the economic strata whose members are most vulnerable to diseases caused by smoking. The additional revenue will also provide this segment of society additional health benefits with the launching of a universal health program, a campaign promise of P-noy.

With only P2 billion estimated incremental revenue each year, the Singson bill will hardly make a dent in resolving critical health issues.

Chris Nelson, president of PMFTC, which has a virtual monopoly of the cigarette industry, understandably is against the excise tax reform and is for the extension of the current tax law for another five to six years. He has time and again warned the government that with the proposed reform, the jobs of 2.7 million people employed by the industry will be jeopardized.

However, proponents of the Abaya bill are bullish about the prospects of opening up the cigarette industry to new entrants resulting from a more level playing field rules as well as the economic impact of the huge incremental revenue that the reformed excise tax law will generate.

Administration officials believe that the creation of a level playing field will enhance the image of the country as an investment option and will therefore provide for more job opportunities not only in the cigarette industry that will be opened but also in other sectors. Based on the performance of sectors where more competition exists and allowed to operate at even terms, the officials are confident that more jobs would be available as monopolies are dismantled.

On paper, it looks like an easy choice favoring reform as against the continuation of a monopoly. However, one cannot discount the effects of a very strong and wellorganized lobby that aims to protect and preserve the competitive edge that had been enjoyed for quite a long period of time, over 15 years to be specific.

Is 15 years of monopoly not enough? Is 15 years of protection against paying higher taxes not enough? I wonder.

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