PHL a top performer in curbing illicit tobacco — JTI

THE PHILIPPINES is among the world’s top-performing markets in curbing the illicit tobacco trade, according to Japan Tobacco International (JTI), noting the active  enforcement actions being pursued by the authorities.

“Globally, I would say that the Philippines is definitely amongst the top two markets with positive results in the fight against illegal tobacco trade,” JTI Anti-Illicit Trade Regional Director for North and South Asia Valentin Dinca said at a roundtable discussion.

He said illicit trade in the Philippines is still high but has improved. It is expected to decline as the government and private sector intensify their efforts.

“I am very hopeful that even in the short term, we are going to see a lot of positive results even more and we are going to see a decrease in illegal tobacco trade levels in the Philippines,” he said.

“If we are to compare with other countries in the region we are still doing very well here in the Philippines,” he added.

He said that the country is the most important market for JTI within the region.

“We see a lot of positive response from law enforcement,” he said.

Mr. Dinca said curbing the illicit tobacco trade intensified beginning in late August last year, leading to a sharp increase in seizures and enforcement action.

“If we are to track enforcement and the results … around more than P8 billion in terms of seizures, which is huge. It is more than, I think, 600% increase in terms of seizures and that’s phenomenal,” he added.

He said the Philippines could harness artificial intelligence tools for law enforcement in identifying suspicious cargo containers, for instance.

Mr. Dinca said maintaining the momentum is critical.

“The challenge is to make this sustainable, because it has been happening for a while. Of course we are very happy to see this happening. But it does pose a question: how long is it going to be sustained for?,” he said.

The EU-ASEAN Business Council and Euromonitor International Ltd. estimated that the government absorbed about P141 billion in foregone revenue due to the operations of the illicit tobacco trade in 2024 and 2025. — Justine Irish D. Tabile