A Sinful Legislation
Hainto, M.A.E.L. and Mariano, K.R.D. (2014). A sinful legislation: how the political and economic interests of Senator Ralph Recto, Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima, Philip Morris Fortune Tobacco Corporation, Inc. and San Miguel Corporation shaped the legislation of excise tax rates on cigarette and liquor, Unpublished undergraduate thesis, University of the Philippines College of Mass Communication.
This thesis looks into how the political and/or business interests of Senator Ralph Recto, Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima, Philip Morris Fortune Tobacco Corporation, Inc. and San Miguel Corporation could have played in the legislation of Republic Act No. 10351 or the Sin Tax Reform Law of 2012. Moreover, this study aims to illustrate how lobbying is done in the Philippines within and without the halls of Congress. To unveil the political and economic interests of public officials and big businesses, this thesis employs a combination of textual analysis, content analysis and investigative journalism techniques. Transcripts of committee hearings held in both chambers of the Philippine Congress are analyzed in this study to primarily reveal the positions of Recto, Purisima, PMFTC, Inc. and SMC. Social mapping then shows the connection of Recto and Purisima to big businesses. Meanwhile, informant interviews, textual analysis and comparative content analysis describe the lobbying techniques employed in the legislation of the Sin Tax Reform Law of 2012.
Key Words: Sin Tax, Sin Tax Reform Law, RA 10351, Lobbying, Tobacco lobby, alcohol lobby, Philip Morris Fortune Tobacco Corporation, Philip Morris, San Miguel Corporation, Senator Ralph Recto, Ralph Recto, Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima, Cesar Purisima