THE National Tobacco Administration (NTA) on Thursday called on local government units (LGUs) to step up the fight against cigarette smuggling which threatens the local industry and costs the government billions in lost revenue annually.
Earlier this year, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) said the government loses P40 billion to P52 billion in taxes annually due to illegally sold cigarettes.
Smuggling also compromises the livelihood of some 2.2 million farmers, workers and families that depend on the legitimate tobacco industry, the NTA said.
On Tuesday, police confiscated P6.46 million worth of suspected smuggled cigarettes in Maguindanao del Norte. The items, allegedly concealed in a cement mixer truck, were apprehended at a checkpoint a Sitio Marayag, Barangay Bayanga Norte, in Matanog.
In the last quarter of 2025 alone, the Philippine National Police Highway Patrol Group (PNP-HPG) seized P3 billion worth of suspected illicit cigarettes.
Previously concentrated in Mindanao, contraband cigarettes have since spread to Luzon, NTA Administrator Belinda Sanchez said, noting that these are sold for P2 to P4 less per stick compared to the P8 price of each stick of legitimate brands.
Large-scale smuggling of agricultural products is classified as economic sabotage and may be considered a violation of the Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Act, punishable by fines of up to five times the value of confiscated goods and life imprisonment.
NTA Deputy Administrator Nestor Casela warned that retailers caught selling illegal cigarettes may face five to eight years of imprisonment, and those selling cigarettes without health warnings may face up to P100,000 in fines and possible imprisonment.
LGUs are asked to join the NTA’s campaign against the illegal tobacco trade and be proactive in monitoring their communities.
Working with the NTA in dismantling smuggling networks are the PNP with its different units including the HPG, Maritime Group, Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, and its 18 regional offices, the Bureau of Customs and the BIR.
