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ways and means committee voted fi"toa"itiiiit'i:r,!.qe-cigs/oapesor
TuesdaylastweekforHouseBilll026, electriiiiit"tiii"traeryyy-ltemswere
which seeks to increase on
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made arouii-zisTs, e-cigarette danices
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beer' spirits *a *i** excise taxes

when the measure was opened for

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a bin in substitution of HB roie *ui iiiii Deuices da;eloped prior to 201J, he

cI airne d, no lon g er b ear any r e s emblan ce to
current ENDS technology, "so usittg
ancient data is not particilarla helnful to
unde-rstanding rnh'ether aapiig piiductis
can help smokers quit today".
An earlier studu coniucted bu the
llniausity College f,ondon, reoeabA thnt
smokers are three times more likelu to
succeed in quitting smokingutith thi use
oJ aapes, compar ed to those using nicotine
replacement therapy.
The research iitiolaed close to 19,000
smokers in England ooer a l2-uear oeriod
from 2006 to201|, making ii ond of the
largest to examine the suciess ratesbf all
the commonly used methods people use to
stop smonng.
The study found thnt smokers who
used e- ciges were 9 5 percent more likely to
quit-smoking than those trying with6ut,
whil e tho se tlnt us e d pr e s uib e d N Rf su ch
as nicotine gums, patches, agiLhzcnges
were only 34percent morelikelU to do"so.
Moreoaet, those buying Nnf yrom
shops were twmore likely to succeed that
thoseTfiTrtg+equit wititout any help at
aII. 'q'." '
***
rHighly unlikely, inconsistent,.
riiit*iitii:t"tt ti ipi:;i;i;sv
misleading, unwarranted. "
That' s Finance Undersecretary
and chief economistGil Beltran rounci-
ly debunking a local petroleum giant's
claim that the increase in fuel excise
taxes under the Tax Reform for Accel-
eration and Inclusion law led to a
decline in{ts earnings for the firsthalf
of the year, given the-improved income
performance reported d-uring the same
period by its compefitors -
Beltran was virtuallv savins that
thu 9tl giant was not being ti"tfiru.
"No dice, man. Try aeain. you
think we're stupid? " w6uld1e u
-ore
aptreactionfromanotionallocalMafia
loan shark dunningu a deadbeat street
client.
But Beltran is a fine financial en-
foi-cer steeped in elegant, persuasive
technocrat-speak.
"We looked at.their financials, and
it seems highly unlikely. It is misiead-
ing for Petron to blame IRAIN for their
decrease in sales," he said in a state-
ment released by the Departrnent of
Finance
An online dictionary provides the
following to define misleading : " am,
biguous, deceiving, delusive, distort-
ed, equivocal, uncertain specious, etc.
These are, quite decidedly, big,
strong, powerful but unpli:asait
Words to describe theposition taken
or
statements made by a supposedly
To pAGE 5
reputable company with a tremen-
dous, strategic role in the countrv's
econonilt stibitity and national seir-
nry.
Recall that oil refiner released a
statement on August 8 declaring that
its net income in the first half olunsed
Py ZZ percent from the samb period
last year.
It claimed that price increases re-
dUry from TRAIN's implementa-
tion led to a decrease in its domesfic
fuel sales.
But Beltran said the DoF looked at
recenth released reports from other
major players, including Pilipinas Shell
Petroleum Corp, whiih allso has a
refinery.
"Shell actually reported that de-
spite lower profiis inthe first half of
?91?.g*pared to the same period in
2018, they saw higher retaii volume
growth across allbusiness segments in
the second quarter, which is fhe oppo-
site of the Petron story" Beltran pbint-
ed out in the DoF stltement.
-'hraddition,Petron'smessagethat
higher prices led to a decline in #les is
inqgnsistentwith theirhistory," he said.
.Tsk-tsk-tsk. \Atrhywould the oil gi-
ant contradict its own record? "
The DoF found that, despite the
peak of gasoline and diesel retiil pric-
es during the fifst quarter of 2012,
?etron revenues sfill'=iircrea sed by IT
percent or P10.6 billion compared to
the previous jrear. In the firs't half of
2012, when the oil price Was hiehest.
Petron's income gr'ew by 43 per?ent.'
"Perhaps Pe#on sh6uld'look in-
ward to understand the ttrue cause,"
Beltran said. (Put another way," it's
your tracks, not our TRAIN, stupid!"
The oil gianthad also reported that
is indirect expenses swelled by 78 per-
cent in the first quarter of this y:ear,
suggesting lower efficiency resulting
ln the rncome decrease.
"Blaming TRAIN for their income
drop is unwarranted. Taking into ac-
count much higher indirect expenses,
it appears the reason for Petroir's per-
formance canbe athibuted to inteinal
issues or perhaps weakening market
-they
share because refuse i-o adiust
their prices, and not higher excise tax.
Remember, Shell is in the samebusi-
ness, and their sales volumes acfually
gr.-ew," the Finance deputy chief ei-
plained.
TRAIN implemented a sradual
increase of oil rixcise taxes by ilp to P6
per liter over a period of thredyears,
with lower rates for "essential prod-
ucts" such as diesel, kerosene, and
LPG.
Behold God'.s glory and seek His
mefcy.
Paase andpray,people,

Pege4