Manila, June 25 -- The Camiguin provincial government is determined to impose harsher penalties on business owners selling smuggled cigarettes.

During Wednesday's second Quarter Joint Council Meeting, Governor Xavier Jesus Romualdo urged the five municipalities in the province to pass an ordinance banning the sale of smuggled cigarettes.

He said businesses found selling such contrabands will have their permits revoked as part of the proposed ordinance's penalty provisions.

Under President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.'s administration, the Bureau of Internal Revenue has intensified its efforts to crack down on smuggled cigarettes nationwide, with help from the Philippine National Police, as traders of these products evade taxes.

In Manticao...