Camiguin provincial Governor Xavier Jesus Romualdo. (Image courtesy of PLGU Camigiin)
TheMindanaoToday.com | Camiguin to enforce stiffer penalties vs. biz selling smuggled cigars
By: Nef Luczon
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – The Camiguin provincial government is determined to impose harsher penalties on business owners selling smuggled cigarettes.
During Wednesday’s second Quarter Joint Council Meeting, Governor Xavier Jesus Romualdo urged the five municipalities in the province to pass an ordinance banning the sale of smuggled cigarettes.
He said businesses found selling such contrabands will have their permits revoked as part of the proposed ordinance’s penalty provisions.
Under President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s administration, the Bureau of Internal Revenue has intensified its efforts to crack down on smuggled cigarettes nationwide, with help from the Philippine National Police, as traders of these products evade taxes.
In Manticao, Misamis Oriental, smuggled cigarettes worth PHP20 million were seized by the police last Jan. 23.
In an interview, Capt. Geraldine Botanas, spokesperson of the Misamis Oriental Police Provincial Office, said the operation was conducted in Purok 1, Barangay Punta Silum.
“A tip from concerned citizens informed the police about eight individuals unloading the 492 cases of cigarettes from a fishing vessel to a truck van around 2:15 a.m.,” she said. (PNA)
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