Dats alotta cigs!

[OnMyWay]

https://pampanganewsnow.com/p4-8-b-fake-cigarettes-burn-in-pampanga-warehouse-fire/

P4.8-B fake cigarettes, chemicals burn in Pampanga warehouse fire

By Bernard Galang

May 2, 2023

1:58 pm

No Comments

PORAC, Pampanga — Around P4.8 billion worth of fake cigarettes, raw materials, chemicals and cigarette-making machines literally turned into ashes after a 15-hour fire completely gutted three warehouses here on Labor Day.

The burned items were pieces of evidence seized by the Bureau of Customs (BOC) and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), along with the police, in raids against manufacturers and distributors of fake cigarettes in different parts of the country.

They were being kept in the warehouses of Digama Waste Management Services and the Greenleaf 88 Non-Hazardous Waste Disposal inside a 4-hectare compound in Barangay Mitla here for safekeeping while the legal cases against the suspects are pending in courts.

The pieces of evidence include P1.3 billion worth of fake cigarettes and raw materials seized by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group and the BIR in Mabalacat City on June 24, 2021.

Also inside the burned warehouses were products, chemicals and manufacturing machines seized by the BOC and BIR from San Simon, Pampanga and Bulacan, Pangasinan, Cavite, Cebu and Cagayan de Oro over the past few years. The two companies also keep pieces of evidence for Philip Morris and Japan Tobacco against those who copied their products.

It was learned the the warehouses contained some P4.8 billion of confiscated products.

Robert Gaza, owner of Greenleaf 88, said only several security personnel reported for work on Monday since it was a non-working legal holiday.

“Yung mga security personnel napansin na may usok sa bandang likuran ng mga warehouse na magkakadikit bandang 1 pm. Nung lumapit sila para tingnan, nabigla sila na mabilis nang kumakalat na ang sunog sa loob at labas ng isang warehouse,” he said.

Gaza said the security personnel immediately notified him and the fire department about the fire.

“Nagsidatingan po ang mga fire trucks ng Porac at yung galing sa ibang bayan at lungsod sa Pampanga para pagtulungan na patayin ang sunog pero nahirapan sila dahil mabilis na kumalat ang apoy sa loob ng mahigit 2,400 square meters area ng mga warehouse,” he said.

The fire lasted for 15 hours or until 4 am of Tuesday.

Porac Fire Chief Luna Lumba said initial investigation showed that the fire started from inside one of the warehouses.

On Monday night, a member of the Bureau of Fire Protection said the fire was probably caused by the very hot weather, adding that the combustible materials have been stored in the warehouses made of galvanized materials for a long time.

“Mahirap pong i-put out ang apoy dahil puno ng combustible materials ang loob ng mga warehouse. Nakita naman po nyo na halos walang tigil ang pagbalik-balik ng mga fire trucks at inikutan na ang mga warehouse pero very persistent talaga ang sunog,” another firefighter said.

At around 10 pm on Monday, this correpondent even saw a group of firefighters climbing the roof of a building to spray water inside the warehouses from the top.

[Lee]

18 minutes ago, OnMyWay said:

The burned items were pieces of evidence seized by the Bureau of Customs (BOC) and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), along with the police, in raids against manufacturers and distributors of fake cigarettes in different parts of the country.

Could have been a mighty convenient fire for anyone with pending court cases.

[Dave Hounddriver]

7 hours ago, OnMyWay said:

fake cigarettes

What are fake cigarettes made from?

[Old55]

So a fire consumed all the evidence and there is no way to know exactly how much illicit product was destroyed?

Well now....... who would have ever thought that could happen? 

 

 

[Mike J]

2 hours ago, Dave Hounddriver said:

What are fake cigarettes made from?

They are counterfeit cigarettes made to look like Marlboro reds, Mighty, Modern Cigarettes, Carnival, Red Golden Dragon (RGD) Classic, etc.  Those brands sell at a premium here over the local brands.  Marlboro in particular seems popular.  I suspect the other brands appeal to other Asian expats living here.  I would not be surprised if a few truckloads made it out the door before the fire started. 

Edited May 2, 2023 by Mike J

[Dave Hounddriver]

3 minutes ago, Mike J said:

They are counterfeit cigarettes made to look like . . . 

So they are real cigarettes, made from real tobacco, but the brands are counterfeit?  Like all the other counterfeit brand names sold in the Philippines?  If that is correct then its a non-issue.

According to this link (click for it here)

Quote

 

  . . Pascua lamented that another factor why fake brands proliferate is because the public patronize them.

In 2021 alone, he said the rise of online stores also contributed to the sales of counterfeit products in the country amounting to PHP23.9 billion.

“Instead of buying these fake brands, it would have been better if we will buy local products instead,” he said

 

So the government wants people to buy local products.  A local producer is making "fake" cigarettes that look imported.  People buy them and are happy.  Win.  Win.  Win.

[JJReyes]

La Suerte and Fortune Tobacco and related companies control 90% of the cigarette manufacturing and distribution in the Philippines.  Well-known brands are through licensing agreements.  The owner is Lucio Tan, the same person who owns Philippine Airlines.  Extremely powerful like the Henry Sy family of SM Department Store and its related real estate development.  Rumor is the "fake" cigarettes are identical to the real stuff.  What is fake are the revenue stamps which means the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) is not receiving their share of an extremely lucrative business.  The estimated revenues from so-called counterfeit products are between P20 to P30 billion. It is not a small business.  I am told the fake revenue stamps are so good that even BIR agents can't tell the difference.  

[OnMyWay]

1 hour ago, Mike J said:

if a few truckloads made it out the door before the fire started.

Only a few and not the entire contents of the warehouse?

[BrettGC]

My wife's family was laughing uproarisly when they heard about this... They're in the tobacco wholesale business.  

Their take is that the fire was set for "reasons..." and no accident.   

Edited May 3, 2023 by BrettGC

[Possum]

4 minutes ago, BrettGC said:

Their take is that the fire was set for "reasons..." and no accident.   

Kinda like some houses belonging to squatters. Takes years to move them legally. Fire? One day.