Finding the Sweet Spot: How Sugar Taxes Can Fight Obesity and Offset Inflation Impacts

BusinessWorld B-Side

Obesity is now a rising health problem in the Philippines, with a staggering 27 million Filipinos considered overweight or obese, according to a 2019 survey by the DOST-FNRI.

To combat obesity, the government imposed an excise tax on sugar-sweetened beverages under the TRAIN Law, which was signed in December 2017.

Filomeno S. Sta. Ana III, a coordinator of Action for Economic Reforms and a columnist for BusinessWorld discusses the importance of protecting the value of the sugar-sweetened beverage tax amid sustained inflation.