House Committee on Ways and Means Chairman Marikina City 2nd district Rep. Miro Quimbo eyes higher taxes on vape products, sugar-sweetened beverages and single-use plastics to offset the hefty P50-billion revenue loss from President Marcos' proposed tax relief package for Filipino workers.

Speaking in a press conference Tuesday, July 28, Quimbo said the Department of Finance estimated that raising the income tax exemption threshold to P350,000 annually--along with increasing the tax-exempt ceiling for 13th-month pay and other bonuses--would reduce government revenues by about P50 billion.

“Sa usaping ito, ay close to P50 billion ang mawawala. So ang recovery natin dito ay manggagaling sa health measures actually,” said Quimbo, who like the rest of the House leadership was intent on helping deliver the tax relief promised by President Marcos in his fifth State of the Nation Address (SONA) Monday.

(In this matter, close to P50 billion will be lost. So our recovery here will actually come from health measures.)

Quimbo said one of the House’s priorities is increasing taxes on vape products, which he described as one of the country’s fastest-growing public health concerns.

“Vape is one of the biggest problems facing our country today in terms of the deleterious effect o ‘yung pinsalang dinadala nito sa ating mga kababayan, lalong-lalo na sa kabataan (or the damage it does to our countrymen, especially to the youth),” he said.

“So this is a scourge. Isa itong pandemya na kinakailangan ma-address (This is a pandemic that needs to be addressed.),” the veteran solon underscored.

He says the House is also studying adjustments to taxes on heated tobacco products, noting that some devices remain lightly taxed or untaxed compared with those in other countries.

Quimbo added that lawmakers are looking to expand the coverage of taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages by including products linked to the growing incidence of diabetes.

“Pangalawa, ay ‘yung sugar-sweetened beverages. Ito yung isa sa pinakamalaking causes ng diabetes sa ating mga kababayan,” said the economist-lawmaker.

(Second is sugar-sweetened beverages. This is one of the biggest causes of diabetes among our people.)

He also said Congress was considering broader taxes on single-use plastic products, particularly sachets, to help curb plastic pollution and reduce flooding caused by clogged waterways.

Drawing from Marikina City’s experience during heavy rains, Quimbo said discarded sachets are among the most common types of waste that block drainage systems.

“Kailangan po din natin ito mapatawan ng karampatang buwis,” he stressed.

(We also need to impose the appropriate tax on this.)

Quimbo said the proposed revenue measures would allow the government to provide meaningful tax relief to Filipino workers while maintaining fiscal responsibility and advancing public health and environmental goals.