Release of P4-B tobacco tax sought

Ilocos Sur Rep. Eric Singson appealed yesterday to President Arroyo to order the immediate release of the P4 billion share of tobacco-producing provinces of the tobacco excise tax under Republic Act 7171.

Singson, who is also president of the Northern Luzon Alliance, an organization of Ilocano solons, said he made the appeal to lessen the adverse impact of the new Tobacco Regulation Law.

The new law is expected to significantly reduce tobacco sales because it bans smoking in public places and transportation and cigarette manufacturers are required to put prominent health warnings in cigarette packages.

"We believe our farmers need immediate help from the government to be able to cope with the expected economic impact of the new law and the dropping tobacco sales," Singson said.

Local governments derive tax allocations from RA 7171, which includes an amount equivalent to 15 percent of the excise taxes on local Virginia cigarettes in the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) of beneficiary provinces.

The P4 billion represents the share of tobacco-producing provinces of Ilocos Sur, Ilocos Norte, Abra and La Union from 2000 to 2003.

The only immediate solution to save the farmers from poverty is the immediate release of their tax share so it could be used for other agriculture-related projects, such as rice and garlic farmlands, Singson said.

He added that he and his colleagues from the four provinces have been calling on Malacañang for the release of the tobacco tax share for three years now.

He said the only time President Arroyo released the tax share was during the birthday of former Ilocos Sur governor Luis "Chavit" Singson, shortly after she took over the presidency.