PAGADIAN CITY, Zamboanga del Sur —- An official of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has asked the public’s enhanced cooperation in the drive against smuggling and the illegal manufacture of cigarettes.
These activities deprive the government of money that would have been collected for health care spending.
Lawyer Moises Tamayo, NBI director for Western Mindanao, said cigarette smuggling is rampant in some provinces of the Zamboanga Peninsula and Bangsamoro regions.
Tamayo said collection from cigarettes goes to fund the universal health care program.
Smuggled and illegally manufactured cigarettes are not levied these taxes, hence a loss for the government, he …
Keep on reading: Gov’t losing billions for health spending due to smuggling, illegal manufacture of cigarettes—NBI