BIR closes illegal cigarette factory in Pampanga

MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has shut down an illegal manufacturer of cigarettes in Pampanga supposedly for export to Malaysia, the Department of Finance (DOF) said.

Closed was the warehouse of GB-BEM Cigarette Co. Inc. located at the Clark Special Economic Zone as it operated despite lacking a permit.

“The company claims that it has a tolling agreement with a Malaysian-based client and that the cigarettes are 100-percent exported. However, the finished products did not bear any markings that they were for export and that these were manufactured in the Philippines,” BIR Deputy Commissioner Arnel Guballa said.

—Ben O. De Vera