From: The Philippine Star
Police and environment officials inspect boxes of Mighty cigarettes dumped in San Isidro, Parañaque City last month. EDD GUMBAN
First of three parts
MANILA, Philippines – Faking of cigarette tax stamps, like counterfeit money, has quietly grown into a major problem for the country, depriving government of much needed revenues.
For instance, the recent raids conducted by the Bureau of Customs (BOC) on the warehouses of Mighty Corp. in Pampanga, General Santos City and Zamboanga yielded over P2 billion worth of cigarettes with fake stamps, or foregone excise tax revenues of at least P1.1 billion.
