MANILA (Mindanao Examiner / Dec. 21, 2012) – San Juan City Rep. JV Ejercito Estrada on Friday chided the Aquino government for its failure to draw up a program for hundreds of thousands of tobacco farmers and workers who are at risk of being displaced once the Sin Tax Reform Act is implemented.
Ejercito Estrada, son of former President Joseph “Erap” Estrada, also noted that the Department of Agriculture (DA) has been earmarked a budget of P74.1 billion in 2013, but not a single peso was allocated to fund an initiative to help tobacco farmers plant other crops.
“I have no quarrel with the proponents of sin tax law, as long as the revenues derived from it will redound to the benefit of millions of Filipinos,” Ejercito Estrada said. “But we just cannot ignore the plight of those who stand to lose their livelihood.”
President Benigno Aquino III signed the sin tax bill into law “as an early Christmas gift to millions of Filipinos.”
Aquino said the law would generate close to P40 billion in additional revenues which would be used to expand the government’s social services program.
Ejercito Estrada, however, noted that the thousand-fold increase in excise tax for cigarettes will threaten the livelihood of farmers, workers and even vendors as cigarette factories will be forced to slash their output or stop operating altogether due to the drastic drop in cigarette consumption.
“We need to do something for the 1.93 million Filipinos–farmers, factory workers, vendors, and their families–who stand to be affected,” he said.
According to the National Tobacco Administration, the Philippines produces 58 million kilograms of Virginia, burley, Turkish and native tobacco varieties annually and that a total of 30,352 hectares in 23 provinces are planted to this crop.
Ejercito Estrada, who belongs to the United Nationalist Alliance, is also running for senator in next year’s mid-terms polls. He consistently topped separate surveys of the Social Weather Station and Pulse Asia, Inc.
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