Tag: national tobacco administration

President Invited to Address Illicit Trade Forum

Image: corund
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has been invited to address the opening day of the National Tobacco Administration’s (NTA) second anti-illicit trade summit, which will take place in Quezon City on Oct. 23- 24. The first event took place in August 2023.
The summit is expected to attract more than 200 participants from the farming sector, tobacco companies and media outlets, among other stakeholders.
Anchored on the theme: “Advancing the Local Tobacco Industry and Combating Illicit Trade,” the forum will focus on the ongoing government efforts in the war against illicit tobacco trade in the Philippines.
“Addressing the illicit tobacco trade requires a whole of national approach, and multi-faceted strategies that include strengthening national policies, enhancing regional cooperation, improving enforcement mechanisms and increasing public awareness,” said NTA Administrator and CEO Belinda S. Sanchez in a statement.
In recent years, the Philippine tobacco industry has faced significant challenges due to the illicit tobacco trade.
According to the NTA, the illicit tobacco trade adversely impacts government revenue, public health, national security and farmer livelihoods. The Bureau of Internal Revenue estimates that the national government misses out on up to PHP100 billion ($1.71 billion) annually in tax receipts due to illicit tobacco trade.
Data from the NTA shows 2.2 million Filipinos financially depend on tobacco, including more than 430,000 farmers, farm workers and their family members.
October 23, 2024
Loans and Grants for Philippine Growers

Photo: PMFTC
The Philippine National Tobacco Administration (NTA) has given growers in Pangasinan PHP21.5 million in of grants and loans for the 2023-2024 cropping season, reports the Philippine News Agency.
About 400 tobacco farmers have taken advantage of the Curing Barn Assistance Program (CBAP), which has a budget of PHP8 million for the covered period. “Through CBAP, they buy the necessary materials to cover their harvest in case of rain or to prevent direct sunlight,” said NTA-Pangasinan branch manager Roger Madriaga.
Madriaga said the NTA also released PHP13.5 million to 705 tobacco farmers in the form of cash and material farm inputs, such as fertilizers and pesticides, under the tobacco contract growing system.
“TCGS has three components, which are financial, technology and marketing. We subsidize the farmers depending on their needs through financial assistance and technology, while we monitor the implementation of the technology,” he said.
Meanwhile, Madriaga said only 1 percent to 2 percent of the more than 2,000 hectares of tobacco plantation in the province have been affected by the El Niño weather phenomenon.
The planting season cut-off date for tobacco is from October to Jan. 15, and farmers may harvest the leaves within 55 days to 60 days.
May 11, 2024
Cash to ‘Marginalized’ Philippine Growers

Photo: Philip Morris Fortune Tobacco Co.
The Philippines’ National Tobacco Board (NTA) has allocated about PHP17 million ($306,077) to assist marginalized tobacco growers in Ilocos Norte, reports the Philippine New Agency.
At least 160 beneficiaries from the towns of Pinili, Batac and Badoc received their respective PHP6,000 grant on Thursday. The next distribution will continue until all the target recipients have received their cash assistance.
The grant targets growers who are tilling lots of 0.5 hectare and below to reduce their production cost. The assistance will cover the cost of fertilizers, crop protection agents, seedlings, suckercides, land preparation, gas and oil, fuelwood and labor.
Tobacco-growing provinces and municipalities in the Philippines collect their share from tobacco excise tax collections based on the volume of leaves produced by their local tobacco growers.
The NTA also provides assistance for rice production, improved tobacco seedlings production and beef cattle production.
January 5, 2024
Philippines Industry Group: Add Tobacco to Anti-Smuggling Act

Image: Tobacco Reporter archive
The National Tobacco Administration (NTA) expressed support for the inclusion of tobacco in the Philippines’ Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act of 2016, reports Inquirer.net.
There are two proposals in Congress: House Bill 3917 and Senate Bill 1812. Both bills would amend Sections 3 and 4 of the Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act, which outline the crops covered by the law and the penalties for smuggling.
“The NTA is in solidarity with the proponents of the proposed measures as these would [offer] solutions to the curbing of tobacco smuggling and illicit tobacco trading/agricultural smuggling in the country,” the NTA said.
“The proposed measures against illicit tobacco trade and smuggling were meant to protect the local tobacco industry and sustain and increase the sin tax collection for the government coffers,” the NTA said.
According to the NTA, tobacco is a high-value crop that contributes tax revenue to education, health, infrastructure and more.
“The tobacco industry is one of the strongest pillars of the country’s economy and the lifeblood of the North as it provides livelihood and sustenance to at least 2 million people, including the [600,000] tobacco farmers and their families,” the NTA said.
March 27, 2023
New Leadership at Philippines’ National Tobacco Administration

Photo: PMFTC
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte appointed Robert Victor Seares Jr. as administrator and chief executive officer of National Tobacco Administration (NTA) on June 10, reports The Philippine Star.
Seares took his oath before Malabon Regional Trial Court Judge Josie Rodil in a ceremony held at the NTA central office in Quezon City.
Previously the mayor of Abra, Seares Jr. replaces his father, Robert Seares Sr., who died on March 19 this year.
Seares Jr. vowed to continue the programs that his father started as well as protect the welfare of tobacco farmers.
An agency of the Department of Agriculture, the NTA aims to promote the interest of tobacco farmers and other industry stakeholders.
June 22, 2020