15 Chinese, 100 Filipino workers nabbed in Cabanatuan cigarette factory

Bureau of Internal Revenue Chief Romeo Lumagui Jr. inspects products from a clandestine cigarette factory in Cabanatuan City on Thursday, Oct. 17. | PHOTO: Armand Galang / Inquirer Visayas

CABANATUAN CITY — At least 15 Chinese nationals and 100 Filipino workers were detained on Thursday, Oct. 17, after a raid by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) on a clandestine cigarette factory in Barangay Cinco-Cinco in this city.

NBI Director Jaime Santiago said the raid resulted from intensified intelligence efforts.

He said a search warrant was not required as the BIR has visitorial powers over such businesses.

Santiago disclosed that among the Chinese nationals, one served as an overseer and could communicate in Filipino.

Government agents discovered hundreds of master cases of tobacco products along with five large manufacturing machines.

According to Santiago, the factory was producing counterfeit versions of both local and imported cigarette brands.

BIR Commissioner Romeo Lumagui Jr., who inspected the seized products, estimated that the goods could have generated about P600 million in excise tax.

More than 500,000 fake tax stamps were also uncovered during the operation.

“If you look at their daily and monthly operations, the potential tax revenue we could have collected is enormous,” Lumagui said.

The confiscated items, including the manufacturing machines, would be destroyed, he confirmed.

Lumagui also expressed concern about the poor sanitation inside the facility, which poses additional health risks to smokers beyond the inherent dangers of tobacco use.

“One of the things we noticed was the filth inside the factory. People may not realize the unsanitary conditions in which these products are made,”
he stressed.

Authorities are still working to identify the factory’s owner, who is believed to be renting the facility. The NBI reported that the factory’s Wi-Fi connection was registered under “JB Canlas.”

Lumagui said charges for violations of revenue laws would be filed against those responsible. INQ