THE Philippines’ Department of Finance will push for a further increase in alcohol and cigarette excise taxes not only to raise additional revenues but also as a health measure, even if elevated prices of “sin” products had already contributed to high inflation at the start of the year.

CONSUMER prices in the Philippines rose by 4.3 per cent in March, the fastest since August 2014 and above the government’s target range for 2018, partly due to the double-digit jump in prices of so-called sin products last month, the Philippine Statistics Authority said.