The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Manila destroyed a total of 240,550 illicit vape products with an estimated tax liability of ₱1.539 billion at a waste management facility in Porac, Pampanga.

According to the agency, the destruction was carried out Aug. 24 at the DIGAMA Waste Management Facility as part of the BIR’s enforcement campaign against the illegal manufacture, importation, distribution and sale of vape products.

BIR Revenue Region No. 6 Regional Director Remir Macatangay said the agency expanded its operations from individual retail stores to warehouses, leading to the seizure of a large volume of illicit vape products.

“We started with retail stores and expanded to warehouses,” Macatangay said, adding that the operation against Tap Fog Philippines was the largest single illicit vape enforcement operation conducted by the BIR to date.

BIR Commissioner Charlito Martin R. Mendoza said enforcement does not end with the seizure of illegal products, stressing the need to permanently remove them from the market.

The BIR said some of the products seized during the Tap Fog Philippines operation were among those destroyed.