Pampanga Rep. Alyssa Michaela Gonzales has filed a resolution seeking a congressional investigation into the recent discovery of three large-scale illegal cigarette factories in her province.
In House Resolution 788, Gonzales cited the need to identify the financiers, masterminds, and protectors behind the illegal cigarette factories that were discovered in Barangays Panipuan and San Jose Malino in Mexico and Barangay Panipuan in San Fernando.
Gonzales said the investigation also seeks to address acts of economic sabotage, systematic tax evasion, and reported human trafficking, and propose amendments to the existing laws to dismantle and prevent the recurrence of such illicit manufacturing of cigarettes.
“The scale of these operations, which utilized sophisticated, smuggled manufacturing equipment and counterfeit BIR tax stamps, results in an estimated annual loss of P30 billion in excise tax revenue— funds vital for the Universal Health Care program,” the resolution read.
Based on reports, the discovered manufacturing hub in Barangay Panipuan can produce P150 million worth of cigarettes daily.
The two other sites, according to reports, serve as satellite production sites or logistics hubs for the distribution of counterfeit brands such as Two Moon, Mighty, and HP.
According to reports, the PNP-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group identified Samyong Global Corporation and its Filipino and Korean incorporators as part of the “ecosystem” supporting these illegal operations. They were reportedly protected by local politicians.
The post House probe sought on large-scale illegal cigarette factories in Pampanga first appeared on Politiko Central Luzon.