The newly signed sin tax law is yet to take effect in January but prices of cigarettes and alcoholic beverages have gone up already.

Most consumers, particularly those who rely on street vendors buying cigarettes by the stick, have felt the pinch of the price increase.

“Nung isang linggo yung P1.50, nagging dalawang piso na isang stick. Ngayon apat na piso na, hindi pa naman dapat ilarga ngayon yung bagong batas [Last week, the previous P1.50 a stick became P2. Now, it’s already P4. The new law is not supposed to be carried out this early],” Andy Santos, complained.

“Parang bumibili ka ng imported tuloy [It’s like you are buying imported ones],” Santos added.

When asked if the price increase will reduce his consumption, he said that he will probably lessen his smoking.

The prices of sin products have gone up during the holidays, with the increase attributed to either the limited supply or the enactment of the sin tax bill.

“Maraming nagtatanong bakit daw mahal na ang presyo. Sinasagot na lang namin na mahal namin nakukuha eh. [A lot of people ask why the price suddenly increased. We just tell them that we also bought it at a price higher than the usual],” Ella Loreto, a street cigarette vendor in Manila, said.

“Wala naman kaming magagawa kung hindi kami kukuha. Wala din naman kaming maibebenta, kaya binibili na din namin [We can’t do anything about it. We can’t sell anything if we don’t buy it],” she added.

Justine Asaytuno of Pasay City, a consumer of one particular cigarette brand, told The Manila Times that there has been a scarcity on the supplies of cigarettes and alcoholic beverages in their area since the holiday season started.

“Hindi naman mahirap hanapin ang Marlboro. Kahit saan ka pumunta, puro Marlboro naman palagi ang kalimitang tinitinda. Nakakapagtaka lang ngayong may okasyon, halos ‘ata lahat ng tindahan dito sa Pasay walang Marlboro [Marlboro is not hard to find. You can buy Marlboro anywhere you go. What is strange is that during the holidays, it seems like all stores here in Pasay don’t have any Marlboro],” Asaytuno said.

He added that if the cigarette brand is sold in some sari-sari stores, the price have increased significantly.

He related that half a pack of Marlboro costs P25 before the holidays but now half a pack sells for P30 to P32.

Aries Guillermo, a friend of Asaytuno, also said that the prices of beer during the holidays increased by P5 to P20.

The price of Red Horse beer mucho, he said, was P65 before. But now, some stores sell it for P70 to P85.

Guillermo said that the dealers told the retailers that the increase was also due to the enactment of the sin tax bill.

President Benigno Aquino 3rd has already signed the sin tax bill—a measure that raises taxes on cigarettes and alcohol beverages.

The measure is expected to generate P35 billion worth of government revenues by 2013 alone.

Meanwhile, the Department of Trade and Industry said that prices of sin products are beyond its control because these are not considered basic goods.

 “Nobody is monitoring that [prices of sin products] because it’s not the priority of the government, simply because it’s not a basic commodity,” said Cristino Panlilio, undersecretary of the Trade and Investments Promotion Group.

“We are only concerned on commodities like water and food. Products like cigarette and alcohol are the last things that we look into,” Panlilio added.        

With a report from Rosalie C. Periabras