By Christopher Lloyd Caliwan
MANILA – The government’s campaign against illicit tobacco is focused on dismantling major criminal syndicates and financiers, rather than penalizing small retailers and other vulnerable players in the supply chain, Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said Friday.
Remulla said in imposing tougher penalties and filing non-bailable cases, the masterminds who profit from the illegal activity must be distinguished from the ordinary individuals who are often drawn into unlawful operations by larger syndicates.
“We give more compassion towards the smaller people and more enforcement versus the bigger people,” he said at a summit in Pasig City.
From October 2025 to June 2026, authorities seized more than PHP8 billion worth of illegal cigarette products as part of the nationwide crackdown on illicit tobacco operations.
Remulla acknowledged that farmers and small retailers often bear the brunt of law enforcement actions despite not being the main beneficiaries of the illegal trade.
“Ang problema ay hindi ang batas, kung hindi ‘yung sino ang apektado ng batas (The problem is not the law, but who is affected by the law). It’s the fringes [of the society], the farmers and the retailers, that get affected the most,” he said.
He stressed that the government’s supply-reduction strategy aims to dismantle the sources of illicit tobacco distribution by going after major financiers, foreign operators, and organized syndicates.
“Mas gusto kong tirahin ‘yung mga mayayaman, mga dayuhan, at big syndicates, kaysa yung maliliit na tao na walang pambayad ng abogado kung dadalhin mo sa (I would rather go after the rich, the foreigners, and the big syndicates, than the simple people who can’t afford a lawyer if you take them to court with a) non-bailable case,” he said.
Remulla said targeting the leaders of illicit tobacco networks would better protect farmers, legitimate businesses, and communities affected by the illegal trade. (PNA)
