BAT-man and 'robins'

DIE HARD III

Herman Tiu Laurel

10/22/2012

Department of Finance Secretary Purisima is pushing to raise P40 billion by raising the excise tax on domestic, Filipino-made and produced tobacco and cigarette products by five times while leaving taxes on luxury and imported brands practically untouched. The real backer of the "Purisima Sin Tax" bill, is the British American Tobacco (BAT) Corp. Here's a headline from Philippine Star, Oct. 15 by Iris Gonzales: "Brit-Am Tobacco backs House version of sin tax bill… In a position paper, BAT asked lawmakers to pass a bill that would level the playing field in the industry…" Leveling can be read to mean "bulldozing" the Philippine tobacco industry. As a sales pitch, BAT promises to invest in a $200-million cigarette plant in the Philippines, but what need would BAT have of a plant if the taxes of tobacco products produced in the Philippines already increase by five times?

It is vital to take the warnings that tobacco smuggling will ensue massively if the "Purisima Sin Tax," the BAT-man, is approved. Here is a British House of Commons presentation in 2000, "Note of Evidence by Duncan Campbell in respect of Planning, Organization and Management of Cigarette Smuggling by British American Tobacco, PLC and related issues …. the activities of British American Tobacco PLC ('BAT') and its predecessor, subsidiary and group companies during the period from 1970 to date. It is based on enquiries made by the author and others as part of an international investigation conducted during 1999 by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, a project of the Center for Public Integrity ('CPI')… a Washington based public interest research group… The major issues … are: A) Smuggling … the deliberate smuggling of BAT products evolved from an ad hoc activity into an organized and centrally managed system of lawbreaking..."

The House of Commons report continues: "Support for criminal activity is endemic among BAT senior managers … in planning, organizing or managing criminal activity, and/or have knowingly consented to the deliberate smuggling of contraband BAT tobacco products around the world. A very substantial part of the company's revenues derives from this … BAT has provided support to narcotics traffickers and other organized crime… supported the smuggling of narcotics (cocaine, crack and heroin) by providing tobacco products with which value may be returned to producer countries. This is particularly so where international controls have been developed to restrict money-laundering of the proceeds of narcotics sales… A... consequence of the company's actions is and has been to remove billions of pounds annually from the income of governments … around the world…."

In 2005 Jamie Doward of The Observer reported, "'Smuggling claims hit tobacco giant'… Fresh allegations rock BAT as six-year investigation by the Mounties leads to publication of secret letters… it had colluded in a multimillion-pound smuggling operation. " Among its references is a research paper entitled 'Complicity in contraband: British American Tobacco and cigarette smuggling in Asia … Objectives': To examine the complicity of British American Tobacco (BAT) in cigarette smuggling in Asia, and … centrality of illicit trade to regional corporate strategy … Results: BAT documents demonstrate the strategic importance of smuggling across global, regional, national and local levels. Particularly important in Asia, contraband enabled access to closed markets, created pressure for market opening and was highly profitable…."

In the heat of the "Purisima Sin Tax" bill debate the head of the Presidential Legislative Liaison Office (PLLO) Manuel Mamba alleged that the "bribe" money had circulated in the Philippine Senate to water down the radical "Purisima Sin Tax." Sen. Ralph Recto felt alluded to and resigned his post as head of the ways and means committee handling the "sin tax" proposal. I don't think Recto is that thin skinned to resign over such simple allegations, most of these politicians are inured to such charges as lobby money is a regular mode of transaction among them as Recto knows from the VAT on fuel taxes which he allowed to be passed on. A threat more serious than mere allegations of "bribery" must have forced Recto's resignation, something like an Amla violation (as in Corona's case), paving the way for takeover by a pliant Drilon.

"Robin" in the urban dictionary means "nice person," BAT cultivates such "robins" or lobbyists. From Wikipedia for example, "British American Tobacco spent more than 700,000 euros lobbying the European Union in 2008, up to four times as much as the company declared on the EU's register of interest representatives, according to a report by Corporate Europe Observatory." There are other insidious lobbies, such as Bloomberg's Tobacco Control Grants masked under "smoke free" campaigns. On Scott.net on the Internet Mayor Bloomberg of New York City, leading the Bloomberg Foundations, is quoted saying "We want to get governments to raise taxes…" some Philippine recipients: $255,626 for Action for Economic Reforms, $300,960 for "HealthJustice" Foundation, $234,794 for UP College of Law, among a list of over 20 local NGOs and institutions.

(Watch Destiny Cable GNN's HTL edition Channel 8, Saturdays, 8:15 to 9 p.m., replay 11:15 p.m. and Sunday, and on www.gnntv-asia.com: this week "Bangsamoro ap-piece-ment" with lawyers Bono Adaza and Alan Paguia; tune to 1098AM radio Tuesday to Friday 5 to 6 p.m. http://newkatipunan.blogspot.com)