Alcohol Taxes Supported by Majority of Filipinos, According to Survey

At least 67% of Filipinos support raising excise taxes on alcoholic products to reduce consumption.

This finding comes from two national surveys presented by the Sin Tax Coalition in a public forum on July 9. One survey was carried out by Vital Strategies, an international public health organization working across more than 80 countries. 

Local research firm WR Numero also implemented a nationwide survey among Filipinos aged 18 and above which found that 67% of Filipinos support raising taxes on alcohol products, with the highest support recorded in Mindanao at 70%. Meanwhile, the Vital Strategies survey corroborated these findings, as it found that 68% of Filipinos support raising alcohol taxes.

The Vital Strategies survey also found that three quarters of Filipinos have experienced or know someone who has experienced alcohol-related harms. Further, community violence is the most concerning issue  related to alcohol identified by respondents. The survey was based on face-to-face interviews among 1,000 Filipinos aged 18 and above, between March 19 and April 15 of this year.  

Alcohol is responsible for 2.6 million deaths worldwide and is known to cause cardiovascular disease, cancer and liver diseases. It also plays a significant role in family violence, road crashes, and deadly injuries including falls. 

The great majority of Filipino adults believe that it is the government’s responsibility to address problems related to alcohol in the country, and most Filipinos support alcohol regulation, including taxes as well as non-tax measures such as limiting availability or reducing marketing, especially advertising that reaches children and youth. 

 The coalition is calling on the government to raise excise taxes on alcohol to address the rising economic and health burden of alcohol on Filipinos, a problem which disproportionately affects youth.

The Vital Strategies survey also found that 66% of Filipinos believe that alcohol is easy to buy, implying that stricter regulation for accessibility of alcohol is also needed in the Philippines. 

The survey is part of the RESET Alcohol initiative, which brings together governments, civil society, and the academia to implement three policy actions from the World Health Organization’s (WHO) SAFER technical package: increasing taxation, regulating availability, and restricting marketing.