Philippines: Higher alcohol taxes for better public health, Suansing says
By John Carlo M. Cahinhinan
November 25, 2018
The House of Representatives is expected to put on vote this week on second reading a measure that seeks to raise the current excise tax rates on alcohol products.
Nueva Ecija Rep. Estrelita Suansing, primary author of House Bill 8618, has expressed hope that her colleagues would support the proposed tax measure which seeks to fund wider PhilHealth coverage for indigent Filipinos.
“For a simpler and more efficient tax structure; better health for our people; and wider indigent health coverage, I beseech your support in passing this measure,” said Suansing in her sponsorship speech last week.
Suansing, chair of the ways and means panel , said during their recent deliberation on the universal health care bill in the bicameral conference committee, many questions revolved around the extent of coverage the government can provide given its limited funds.
“How do we pay for the P103 billion health premiums of 65.2 million indigent Filipinos? How do we cover the total requirement of P118 billion this 2019? Levying on the causes of our countrymen’s illness is not just judicious but certainly sensible,” said Suansing.
The proposed legislation aims to reduce alcohol drinking, which according to health experts is the seventh leading cause of disability and death.
“The latest global research asserts that the safe level of alcohol drinking is zero, thereby debunking that old saying that drinking in moderation can aid in one’s well-being. It apparently does not,” she said.
She said alcohol prices must be prohibitive “to discourage people, if not to stop them from indulging, particularly the poor who do not have the means to pay doctors and buy medicines when they become ill.”
The bill’s primary sponsor assured the public that excise tax rates will only be raised minimally, since she also recognizes that alcohol drinking is part of normal revelry and that a whole labor force may be affected.
The measure provides that the ad valorem rate for distilled spirits will go up by 2 percent and its specific tax by P6.60 in 2019. For beer, the tax per liter will increase by P2.60 in the same year.
The bill also simplified the excise tax structure through the following: (1) it imposes 15 percent ad valorem and a single specific tax of P650 per liter on wines; (2) it reduced the category in still wines from three to two; (3) it removed the distinction between handcrafted beer and those manufactured in factories; and (4) it indexed the tax rates to seven percent to take inflation into serious consideration.