Where did sin taxes go? Pia Cayetano asks

Senator Pia Cayetano. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Sen. Pia Cayetano is asking Congress to inquire into whether the P91-billion revenue from the Sin Tax Reform Act went to their intended beneficiaries in 2013, the first year of its implementation.

Cayetano wanted to know how the government spent the billions of pesos in revenues from the higher taxes on tobacco and alcohol that should have gone to public health services and universal health care.

The senator filed Senate Resolution No. 440, asking the congressional oversight committee on the Sin Tax Reform Act to inquire into the government’s compliance with the law’s social objectives and revenue targets.

She said it was urgent that Congress undertake the review “to ensure that the twin goals of the law are being observed.”

Signed into law in December 2012, the landmark legislation sought to enhance the government’s tax collections from alcohol and tobacco products, and allocate much of the revenues collected to public health programs.

“One year after we struggled and succeeded in the passage of the Sin Tax Reform Act, have our people started to benefit from higher sin tax collections as this landmark law had envisioned?” Cayetano said in a statement.

The sin tax law, or Republic Act No. 10351, raised excise taxes on tobacco and alcohol products with the aim of generating funds for social services and curbing excessive smoking and drinking habits among Filipinos.

Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr., meanwhile, has asked the government to ensure that the estimated 53,982 tobacco farmers in the country received their share from the revenues from the excise tax on tobacco.