A backhoe destroys the cigarette-making machines contained in the Digama Waste Administration Companies OPC compound in Porac, Pampanga on Monday, Feb. 24. (Picture by Jun A. Malig)
PORAC, Pampanga — The Bureau of Inside Income (BIR) on Monday destroyed about P2.1 billion price of illicit cigarettes and a number of other cigarette-making machines at a waste administration facility on this city..
BIR Commissioner Romeo Lumagui Jr. led the incineration and shredding of the confiscated cigarettes, which had been seized from varied elements of Luzon since 2023.
In an interview, Lumagui mentioned a good portion of the illicit cigarettes saved on the warehouses of Digama Waste Administration Companies OPC got here from the Caloocan Income Area 5, which covers Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas, Valenzuela, and Bulacan.
“We’re first, destroying the cigarettes confiscated throughout our raid in Bulacan and Valenzuela late final yr,” he mentioned.
About 13.5 million packs of assorted manufacturers of illicit cigarettes saved on the facility could be destroyed inside per week, the Inquirer realized.
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Digama president Robert Gaza mentioned their newly acquired incinerator is extra environment friendly than the corporate’s shredding machines, because it might scale back every rim or pack of cigarettes to ash extra shortly.
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The BIR has designated Digama as its main destruction hub in Luzon.
From Feb. 24 to twenty-eight, all 9 income areas of the BIR throughout the nation would concurrently destroy the illicit cigarettes confiscated inside their jurisdictions, Lumagui mentioned.
By means of these coordinated efforts, the BIR goals to display its dedication to making sure that illegally manufactured and bought cigarettes wouldn’t re-enter the market.
“We wish to present that our marketing campaign in opposition to illicit cigarettes is a whole course of—from raid and confiscation to the submitting of prices and now the destruction of the seized merchandise—to dispel any doubts about the place the confiscated cigarettes find yourself,” Lumagui mentioned.
He assured the general public that every one illicit cigarettes in BIR’s possession nationwide could be destroyed by February 28, with BIR personnel stationed 24/7 at waste administration facilities to supervise the destruction course of.
Representatives from the Fee on Audit had been current through the destruction exercise.
The federal government estimates that it has misplaced about P6.4 billion in potential tax income from the illicit cigarettes seized since 2023.
In an announcement distributed to the media on Monday, the BIR mentioned the destruction of illicit cigarettes not solely prevents tax losses but additionally addresses the intense public well being dangers posed by cigarettes from unknown sources.
The company additionally confirmed that a number of legal circumstances had been filed in opposition to people and firms concerned within the unlawful commerce, together with Chinese language nationals.
“The destruction of illicit items is a vital step in sustaining the integrity of our income assortment, defending public well being, and safeguarding the pursuits of reputable companies that correctly declare and pay the right taxes,” the assertion learn.
At the very least 20 models of cigarette-making machines had been additionally destroyed by a backhoe on the Digama compound throughout Monday’s operation. INQ
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