Food manufacturer Mondelez Philippines Inc. is urging the government to reconsider the proposed tax hikes on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) and single-use plastics, warning of their potential impact on consumers who increasingly rely on snacks.

Mondelez Philippines Corporate and Government Affairs Lead Caitlin Punzalan said the company is firmly against these tax increases, considering that consumers are still grappling with higher food costs.

“As a company, we urge the government to consider the implications of any SSB tax increase, not just for manufacturers but for the entire food supply chain,” she told reporters on Tuesday, Aug. 25.

She noted that increasing the current tax on SSBs, which is set at ₱6 per liter, would “significantly impact” consumers, retailers, and the whole value chain.

The Department of Finance (DOF) is pushing for an increase in SSB taxes to ₱20 per liter as part of its package of tax relief measures dubbed the ProGRESS bill, aimed at helping Filipinos manage the rising cost of living.

These measures are expected to help the government raise revenues, with increased SSB taxes expected to generate up to ₱297 billion from 2027 to 2030.

If enacted, Punzalan said higher taxes on SSBs would have a “big impact” on demand for Mondelez Philippines’ products, particularly its powdered beverage brand Tang.

At the same time, she said the company is also against the revival of efforts to raise taxes on single-use plastics, such as sachets.

Under the ProGRESS bill, the DOF is also proposing a ₱150-per-kilo excise tax on single-use plastics.

Marikina City 2nd District Rep. Miro Quimbo, who chairs the House Committee on Ways and Means, said this measure would also help address flooding caused by clogged waterways, as sachets are among the most common types of waste that block drainage systems.

“For the single-use plastic tax. We firmly stand by the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) law,” said Punzalan.

Instead of imposing another tax, she said Mondelez Philippines wants the government to fully implement the EPR law to require manufacturers to take responsibility for the plastic packaging of their products.

“While we're doing that, we're helping strengthen the recycling industry, the waste collection industry, and the plastic collection industry. So it's a total stakeholder approach,” she said.

Mondelez Philippines issued its call for the government to reconsider the proposed tax increases after it found in a report that snacks and beverages are increasingly becoming daily nutritional necessities for Filipino workers.

Based on its 2026 State of Snacking Report, the company said a significant portion of consumers now use snacks as meal replacements, meaning any cost increase may directly impact basic nutrition, not just consumer spending.

The report further noted that snacking “fills critical nutritional and functional gaps throughout the workday” for 37 percent of consumers in the morning and around 30 percent in the afternoon.

“Importantly, while Filipino consumers do enjoy indulgent snacks, the data reveals that finding filling snacks far outpaces indulgence as the primary driver of snacking behavior," the report read.