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Mark Ernest Villeza - The Philippine Star
February 17, 2026 | 12:00am
Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Jonvic Remulla, alongside Customs Commissioner Ariel Nepomuceno, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief PGen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr., and other government officials., leads a site inspection of an alleged abandoned illegal cigarette factory in San Fernando, Pampanga on February 16, 2026.
STAR / Miguel De Guzman
MANILA, Philippines — Authorities have discovered three abandoned illegal cigarette manufacturing facilities in different towns in Pampanga, with officials suspecting a single syndicate behind the operations, Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said yesterday.
Remulla said the facilities in San Simon, Mexico and San Fernando appeared to have shut down simultaneously after a raid on another site on Jan. 29, calling the timing “too much of a coincidence.”
“We are looking into who the overall mastermind is because they all stopped operations at the same time,” Remulla said during a briefing in San Fernando, Pampanga, adding that two politicians are considered persons of interest.
He declined to name the politicians as investigation continues, but noted that the probe on the ring is zeroing in on two Central Luzon congressmen as protectors, if not members of the syndicate.
Remulla noted that after the arrest of six Chinese nationals during an earlier raid, the illegal cigarette factories disappeared overnight.
“The places were empty, like ghost sites when we entered,” he said.
Authorities estimated that the factories could produce cigarettes worth P160 million daily, with a potential combined output of P450 million per day.
According to Remulla, the seized equipment and products are valued at about P400 million and may be subject to forfeiture under the Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Act.
Government estimates show that about P30 billion in potential revenue was lost in 2025 due to illicit cigarettes.
Philippine National Police chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. said coordinated enforcement is ongoing nationwide under Republic Act 12022, targeting the full supply chain and individuals involved.
“This will be a well-coordinated effort among agencies to determine where the cigarettes came from, who transported them and who sold them,” Nartatez said.
Bureau of Customs Commissioner Ariel Nepomuceno said the smuggled agricultural and cigarette products from January to December last year were valued at nearly P200 billion, while the total BoC seizures exceeded P400 billion. — Rainier Allan Ronda
