Bacolod City, Philippines – Business tycoon Eduardo “Danding” Cojuangco Jr. is endorsing the passage of sin tax bill.
“I endorse it. We have no problem with that,” Cojuangco said, when asked of his reaction on the bill, at a press conference at L’Fisher Hotel in Bacolod Friday.
“Magbabayad kami. In fact, we have always paid more than what we should,” Cojuangco, the chairman of San Miguel Corp., the largest food and beverage corporation in the Philippines and Southeast Asia, said.
Malacañang has called on Congress again to pass the sin tax bill.
The sin tax bill is expected to discourage the consumption of tobacco and alcohol products, especially among the young and the poor.
The DOH estimates that a 10-percent increase in tobacco taxes would reduce by two million the number of smokers by 2016.