Cheap but deadly: Advocates urge higher tax on alcohol products

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Advocates believe that raising the excise tax on alcohol would not only curb consumption and save lives but also strengthen public health financing

MANILA, Philippines — Tombstones filled the Boy Scout Circle in Quezon City on Tuesday, October 28, as several advocacy groups called for the implementation of higher excise taxes on alcohol.

The tombstones, written with anti-alcohol statements, stood for the 47 Filipinos who die every day due to alcohol-related causes.

Representatives from various youth and community groups, including the Sin Tax Coalition, 1Tahanan Partylist, and the Action for Economic Reforms (AER) participated in the activity.

According to the 2023 Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), 17,088 Filipinos died from alcohol-related causes, translating to approximately 47 deaths per day and two deaths per hour. About 2.58% of all deaths in the country are attributed to alcohol consumption, including car crashes and alcohol-related illnesses and injuries.

Similarly, 9.24% or 2,668 cancer deaths in the Philippines are also linked to alcohol. These include liver cancer (1,205), as well as colon and rectal cancer (546).

Based on the GBD data, alcohol-related costs — including government and private spending on healthcare and productivity losses — to the economy was at P256.2 billion in 2023.

However, the government only collected P108.2 billion in excise taxes on alcohol that year.

Youth leader and University of the Philippines student Gwyneth Barra believed that high consumption and easy access to alcoholic products is a social cost that often results in an inefficient distribution of goods in the market, economically referred to as market failure. The sin tax law seeks to address this market failure by making alcoholic products more expensive and less accessible, especially to the youth.

“It could be said that only the poor will be affected by this, but in the long run they will also be the beneficiaries because this tax will go to the development of health programs that they could benefit from,” she said.

Under Republic Act 11467 or the sin tax law, alcohol taxes should be allocated to the following:

• 60% of alcohol tax revenues must be allocated to the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth)
• 20% goes to the Health Facilities Enhancement Program (HFEP) and Medical Assistance to Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients (MAIFIP)
•  Remaining 20% are dispelled for programs supporting the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Advocates assert that raising alcohol taxes would not only curb consumption and save lives but also strengthen public health financing. A large portion of alcohol tax revenues supports PhilHealth and medical assistance programs for low-income Filipinos.

They believe that as alcoholic products become less accessible, those most affected by it will benefit from expanded healthcare services.

AER legislative officer Paul Roset also pointed out that the Philippines’ excise duties on alcohol remain considerably lower than others in Southeast Asia.

“Our proposal is to have a 25% or P9 increase in taxes for distilled spirits or gins which the masses commonly consume. A 10% increase for fermented liquor or beers. Alcopops or flavored alcohol beverages should also be taxed as fermented liquors,” said Roset.

In 2024, the revenue target for excise tax on alcoholic beverages was P117.16 billion, while the total revenue collected reached P116.12 billion, falling short of about P1.04 billion. Beginning 2025, the specific excise tax per liter of distilled spirits, wines, and fermented liquor are mandated to increase by 6% annually.

The national government aims to collect P4.6 trillion in tax revenues for 2026, with P132 billion coming from excess levies on alcohol products. This is an 8% increase from its current P122-billion target for 2025.

Filomeno Sta. Ana, co-founder of AER, suggests increasing sin taxes on alcohol and tobacco products to help the government address the deficit. –Arriane dela Cruz/Rappler.com

Arriane dela Cruz is a Rappler intern. Learn more about Rappler’s internship program here.