Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III lauded the move of Senator Pia Cayetano and the members of the Senate ways and means committee for pushing the swift panel approval of the measure imposing higher taxes on alcohol products and electronic cigarettes.
The higher taxes are estimated to raise around P47.9 billion in additional revenues for the Universal Health Care program that will primarily benefit low-income families.
Dominguez said Cayetano’s well-studied proposal, as outlined under Senate Bill No. 1074, would augment the massive funding needed for the full implementation of the UHC while at the same time help curb binge drinking and deter the use of potentially harmful vaping and heated tobacco products, especially among young Filipinos.