Saying that the government is "losing billions", Puwersa ng Bayaning Atleta (PBA) Party-list Rep. Margarita "Migs" Nograles underscored on Saturday morning, March 18 the urgent need to pass the proposed law against tobacco smuggling. The House of Representatives has already approved on third and final reading House Bill (HB) No.3917 co-authored by Nograles and presidential son, Ilocos Norte 1st district Rep. Sandro Marcos. The bill seeks to classify cigarette smuggling as economic sabotage as provided under Republic Act (RA) No.10845. However, its counterpart measure remains pending in the Senate. The lady solon made this appeal amid reports of massive smuggling of tobacco products, especially in Mindanao. Just a few days ago, police operatives intercepted P2.5 million worth of smuggled cigarettes as they were being unloaded in an apartment in Barangay Tetuan, Zambaoanga City. Nograles said this is obviously part of a bigger shipment of cigarettes that was successfully smuggled into the country. Very recently, some 19,000 master cases of smuggled cigarettes were also confiscated by the Bureau of Customs (BOC) at a warehouse in Indanan, Sulu. “This could have easily translated to P522 million in excise tax which can fund the construction of many school buildings and post-harvest facilities including cold storage for our vegetable producers,“ Nograles said. “We really need to pass this law classifying cigarette smuggling as economic sabotage.  We are losing billions due to cigarette smuggling and smugglers are undeterred because the government can only confiscate and impose fines. We need a tougher law to stop this massive smuggling of cigarettes,” added the House assistant majority leader. HB No.3917 seeks to amend Sections 3 and 4 of RA 10845 to include tobacco -- whether manufactured or manufactured including finished products such as cigars, cigarettes, or heated tobacco— as an agricultural commodity. It also seeks to declare tobacco smuggling as economic sabotage punishable with life imprisonment and a fine of twice the fair value of the smuggled agricultural product and the aggregate amount of the taxes, duties, and other charges. Nograles said while cigarette smoking is now highly regulated in the Philippines, tobacco farming remains a primary source of livelihood for so many Filipino farmers. High excise taxes have been imposed on the sale and production of tobacco products, and yet  government is still losing billions in uncollected revenues due to cigarette smuggling, she said. Marcos and Nograles pushed for the approval of the measure as they stressed that the tobacco industry remains a common source of income for many Filipinos. It represents 516,000 in terms of labor force in 2019, with around 2.2 million Filipinos generating earnings from the industry.