Tobacco farmers stage protest vs sin tax measure

CANDON CITY, Ilocos Sur – Tobacco farmers began yesterday their two-day simultaneous rallies in northern provinces to protest the government-sponsored revenue measure increasing “sin taxes” on tobacco and liquor products.

The rallies were to be held at public cemeteries in Ilocos Sur, Ilocos Norte, Abra, La Union and Pangasinan starting yesterday.

Dubbed as “Tobacco Rebellion,” the protest action was expected to draw thousands of tobacco farmers, to be followed by a farmers’ caravan on Sunday to the Senate in Manila where the proposed sin tax measure is under consideration.

The tobacco farmers will stage daily rallies at the Senate until Nov. 21 when the revenue measure is expected to be tackled.

Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile earlier announced that the proposed sin tax bill would be part of the Senate’s priority agenda along with the proposed 2013 national budget.

Erning Calindas, president of the Federation of Tobacco Growers’ Association, said the government’s proposed tobacco tax scheme is “heavy” and would lead to the “extinction of the tobacco crop.”

He said a so-called “Tobacco Revolt” was staged during the Spanish period when the government imposed a tax on tobacco that was higher than the crop’s production cost.

The uprising, he said, ended when the government lowered the tax to a realistic level.

Under the revised proposal of the Department of Finance, Calindas said the government expects to get P40 billion in sin taxes.

He deplored reports that out of the expected revenue, P31 billion will be sourced from tobacco products, and P9 billion from liquor products.

He questioned the disparity, saying the ideal ratio should be P20 billion from each of the two sin products.

He alleged that a powerful lobby group engaged by foreign liquor products is responsible for the beneficial tax imposition favoring liquor and wines.