DOH backs tax hike on sweet drinks

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health (DOH) at a congressional hearing on Monday backed a proposal to raise taxes on sugary drinks.

Health Assistant Secretary Lester Tan said his agency supports an increase in the excise tax on sweetened beverages—now set at a flat P6 to P12 per liter depending on sweeteners—to reduce consumption and even proposes higher rates and broader coverage than those already put forward by policymakers.

Proposals pitched by lawmakers seek to update the rate for beverages sweetened with caloric or noncaloric sweeteners ranging from P9 to P20 per liter from the current P6, and to charge up to P40 per liter from P12 for beverages containing high-fructose corn syrup.

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The Department of Finance had suggested increasing the tax on such drinks with caloric or noncaloric sweeteners to P20 per liter and charge P40 per liter for beverages containing high-fructose syrups.

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It also seeks to index the rates by 5 percent annually and expand the coverage to include ice cream, ice lollies and frozen yogurt.

READ: Tax hike on sugary drinks could raise up to P34 B for PhilHealth – DOF

“If what we are going to do is only P20 per liter, then the consumption of sweetened beverages will be cut by 18 percent,” Harvy Liwanag, programme lead for the Philippines Partnership Programme, told the House ways and means committee.

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Slapping instant coffee, sweetened milk and fruit juices with a P20 per liter tax may curb consumption by as much as 31 percent, he added.

Higher obesity rate

Adriano said the consumption of sugary beverages “is now greater than in 2018 when we first implemented the tax,” referring to when the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Law took effect.

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Filipinos consumed about 6.3 billion liters last year and 5.8 billion liters in 2024, from 5.3 billion liters in 2018, he said.

Health Undersecretary Albert Domingo said obesity has trended upward over the past decades, with more than four in 10 Filipinos considered overweight last year. /cb