Former chairman of House body bucks tax stamps

MANILA, Philippines - The former chairman of the powerful House ways and means committee said he had rejected proposals from the Department of Finance (DOF) and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to put tax stamps on tobacco and alcohol products.

In fact, former congressman Herminio Teves told a House inquiry that he wrote to the ways and means committee about his “negative” stance on the tax stamp proposal being put forward by the Switzerland-based SICPA Product Security SA (SICPA).

The 88-year-old former solon from Negros Oriental made the statement after he felt alluded to newspaper reports about “an elderly father of the Department of Finance (official)” who “imposed on the approval of SICPA.”

This apparently led to the resignation of then BIR commissioner Sixto Esquivias.

“That is not true because I was the first one who wrote this committee that I am ‘negative’ to the SICPA,” the 88-year-old Teves told the House ways and means committee.

“In other words, our former chairman on the committee on ways and means—no less than former congressman Herminio Teves, is against the SICPA transaction,” said committee chairman Antique Rep. Exequiel Javier.

Javier’s interpretation did not elicit comments from the committee members themselves or a clarification from Teves himself.

The House ways and means inquiry stemmed from a controversy surrounding the proposal of SICPA on tax stamps.

At the hearing, cigarette manufacturers, which were represented by the Philippine Tobacco Institute (PTI) as well as those from La Suerte Cigar and Cigarette Co., the Anglo-American Tobacco Corp., and Philip Morris Philippines Manufacturing Inc. (PMPMI), totally rejected the SICPA proposal.

“The adoption of this new system, in addition to the impending increase in excise tax as mandated by law, would impose financial burdens that would be punitive in magnitude for us, resulting in uncompetitive prices for our products, thereby, decreasing sales and ultimately leading to the cessation of operations,” said Anglo-American Tobacco assistant vice president Blake Clinton Dy.