Cagayan de Oro City 2nd district Rep. Rufus Rodriguez (Facebook)

A ranking solon wants giant online marketplace Lazada to stop its vendors from selling Flava, the e-cigarette brand that's currently in hot water for an alleged P728-million tax evasion case. 

Cagayan de Oro City 2nd district Rep. Rufus Rodriguez directed this call to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) during a hearing of the House Committee on Ways and Means Tuesday, Dec. 12, which Flava Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Gen Vincent Fabro no-showed. 

"Flava and e-cigarettes are still in the market, in spite of all being done here," lamented Rodriguez, a vice chairman of the Committee on Trade and Industry. 

The veteran legislator from Cagayan de Oro commended Lazada's rival marketplace, Shopee, for adhering to the call to stop Flava sales on its platform. 

Tuesday's ways and means panel inquiry was by virtue of Rodriguez's House Resolution (HR) No.1437, which noted the discovery last October of P1.428 billion worth of alleged illegally imported e-cigarettes bearing the mark Flava. It was the panel's second hearing on the matter. 

"Let us not allow them to continue selling, especially to minors," said Rodriguez, who co-authored Republic Act (RA) No. 11900 or the Vaporized Nicotine and Non-Nicotine Products Regulation Act. 

The law prohibits the sale of vapes and e-cigarettes to minors, while also requiring health warnings posted on the label as well as promotional materials online and in physical stores. 

Based on the committee's inquiry with the BOC, the 14,000 boxes containing 1.4 million pieces of illegally imported Flava vapes it confiscated had a total dutiable value of about P728 million, plus P84 million in 12-percent value added tax (VAT). 

Rodriguez said the government was ultimately shortchanged by about P800 million. 

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While Flava Chief Operating Officer (COO) Lilac Tayaban claimed during Tuesday's hearing that they bought the imported vapes from Denkat Philippines, the latter's owner Dennis Rostrata denied selling to them. Denkat is reputedly the largest vape distributor in the country. 

Rodriguez also moved to issue a subpoena ad testificandum against Shi Lichao, the general manager of a company based in Shenzhen, China that manufactures the vapes supplied to Denkat Philippines. 

The House panel wants to finish its investigation on this alleged multi-million peso tax-evasion scheme before Congress goes on its Christmas break on Dec. 16. 

Rodriguez said the committee report on the Flava tax-evasion issue will be out this week.