Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto has expressed support for the Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI) directive to suspend the online selling of vape products temporarily.

“I support the DTI directive. Their job is to regulate the sale of vape products and to ensure minors do not have access to them," Recto told Manila Bulletin.

"It has to ensure vape products are safe and that proper taxes are collected,” he added.

The finance chief was referring to the DTI’s Administrative Order No. 24-03, which temporarily suspends the online sale, distribution, and advertising of vapor products and their devices and systems through online marketplaces and online merchants.

The temporary ban will only be lifted once the online merchants and marketplaces have presented and submitted measures that ensure compliance with the proof-of-age verification and other legal requirements of the Republic Act No. 11900 or the Vaporized Nicotine and Non-Nicotine Products Regulation Act.

Under the law, the DTI is the responsible agency for regulating vapes and other new tobacco products.

It also prohibits merchants from selling their vape products to individuals below 18. It requires buyers to present any valid government-issued identification card with their photograph and age or date of birth.

The DTI said that it identified numerous and repeated violations of RA 11900 and other related issuances regarding vapor products.

In a statement on Saturday, Trade Secretary Alfredo E. Pascual emphasized the importance of having strong tracking systems to monitor product movement from importers to retailers. 

Pascual also stressed that both manufacturers and importers should be held accountable for illegal or defective products, not just retailers. 

He added it is also crucial to ensure that distributors educate retailers about the law's limitations and restrictions to ensure compliance.

Pascual, meanwhile, acknowledged the concerns raised by manufacturers about unused inventory. 

He said that some manufacturers had stopped ordering 90-day stock since the transitory period began.

While the DTI would prefer to avoid imposing new regulations, Pascual made it clear that non-compliance will have serious consequences.

“The protection of our youth is non-negotiable. The proliferation of vapor products on online marketplaces has made these harmful substances easily accessible to minors, posing a significant threat to their health and well-being. This suspension is a necessary step to curb this alarming trend,” he said.

Back in March, Recto stated that they are looking for options to ban disposable vape products, noting that most are not registered with the DTI and the Bureau of Internal Revenue.

“I think we should ban disposable vape products. Most, if not all, disposable vape products are unregistered with the DTI and do not pay excise taxes,” he said.

He said that if vape merchants fully comply with tax obligations, the selling price of their products should stay within P3,000 each. However, a quick search on the internet revealed that some are being sold around P100 to P500 per device.

The BIR sets the excise tax for salt nicotine vape at P52 per millimeter (ml), while freebase cigarettes are taxed at P60 per 10 ml.

For the first half of the year, BIR Commissioner Romeo D. Lumagui Jr. said they collected a total of P7.2 billion in tax liabilities from confiscated cigarettes and vape products.

Over 500,000 packs of illegal cigarettes and 170,000 illegal vape products were seized from January to June, Lumagui said.