Elect pro-tobacco tax candidates, Sin Tax Coalition asks voters

Doctors, medical professionals and health advocates fill the auditorium of the Lung Center of the Philippines in Quezon City on Tuesday, April 8, 2025, as they call on candidates in the May midterm elections to support higher excise taxes on alcohol, cigarettes, and vape products. The Sin Tax Coalition emphasized the alarming rise of tobacco and alcohol use among the youth, linking it to a surge in early-onset diseases and premature deaths

THE Sin Tax Coalition is urging Filipinos to elect candidates who are committed to increasing taxes on tobacco, vape and alcohol to protect the Filipino youth from a growing epidemic. 

In a forum held at the Lung Center of the Philippines in Quezon City last Tuesday, the movement named the “Health Tax Heroes” in the Upper House, or those who have consistently voted in favor of taxing cigarettes, vape and alcohol. They are Senators Pilar Juliana “Pia” S. Cayetano, Francis Pancratius “Kiko” N. Pangilinan, Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson and Emmanuel “Manny” D. Pacquiao. Senators Maria Imelda Josefa “Imee” R. Marcos and Ramon Bautista “Bong” Revilla Jr. were named by the group as the biggest “Health Tax Hazards,” for declining to vote for taxing these sin products.

“We need candidates for the 2025 elections to be ‘Health Tax Heroes’ and stand with us in prioritizing the health and well-being of the people,” Action for Economic Reforms Program Director Adolfo Jose A. Montesa said.

For over a decade, the laws taxing tobacco, vape and alcohol products have helped fund critical Healthcare programs. We have to stay the course so that these taxes keep impacting consumption, given the ongoing epidemic affecting the young people,” Montesa added.

During the forum, physicians urged the 2025 candidates to “Tax Yosi, Vape, at Alak Now” as a major policy of the coalition’s “Health Manifesto,” which articulates the commitments from aspiring lawmakers for more health-centric laws. The doctors included Philippine Medical Association President Hector M. Santos Jr., Hepatology Society of the Philippines Member Jennielyn Agcaoili-Conde, Philippine College of Chest Physicians President Dr. Ma. Encarnita “Maricar” B. Limpin and Sin Tax Coalition Public Health Expert Raymond John “RJ” S. Naguit.

Moreover, the doctors called on voters to thoroughly check the records of the 2025 candidates and demand accountability on their causes they’re supporting, especially with the recent efforts to weaken the country’s tax collection efforts through the Sin Tax Sabotage Bill recently passed in the Lower House.

“We are on the front lines, witnessing the devastating effects of tobacco, alcohol and vaping in our communities,especially the youth,” Santos said.

He added that, more than an economic measure, taxing these substances is a life-saving move as more than 115,000 Filipinos die annually caused by these harmful products.

“The health harms of alcohol, tobacco and vales are undeniable, so is the political influence of these industries. For years, some lawmakers have prioritized corporate profits over Filipino lives. This election, we are making sure voters know exactly who has betrayed public health,” Limpin said.

Meanwhile, a health group earlier warned that the proposed “Sin Tax Sabotage Bill,” which aims to lower tobacco taxes, would endanger young Filipinos to a higher risk of cancer. The proposed measure, House Bill 11360, was approved on second reading by the House Plenary.

The controversial bill was co-sponsored by House Deputy Speaker and Ilocos Sur (2nd District) Rep. Kristine Singson-Meehan, Nueva Ecija (1st District) Rep. Mikaela Angela Suansing and Cagayan De Oro (2nd District) Rep. Rufus B. Rodriguez.

Former Health Secretary and currently Health Justice Board member Dr. Jaime Z. Galvez Tan warned that once put into law, it will “sabotage” hard-won strides that will open the floodgates to a bigger number of Filipinos for easier ‘access to cigarettes, become addicted, acquire diseases like lung cancer and die from smoking.”

“There is nothing more urgent than the health of our people, especially our next generation,” Galvez Tan pointed out in an online health news portal.

“We have worked too hard to enact the Sin Tax Law that has proven to reduce tobacco consumption and smoking among Filipinos,” he added.

According to policy analysts of the Sin Tax Coalition, a rollback in six taxes on tobacco products will make cigarettes more affordable and result in 400,000 new smokers, mostly of whom belong to the youth sector and more than P27 billion in lost revenue in five years.

- Rizal Raoul Reyes(Business Mirror)