At COP11, the Philippines must promote health and stop carrying the tobacco industry's agenda

AS COUNTRIES gather in Geneva for the 11" session of the Conference of Parties (COP11) to the World Health Organization (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) on Nov. 17 to 22, this question looms large: Will the Philippines stand firm to protect public health or will it protect the tobacco industry? If history is any indication, there are grave concerns that tobacco industry influence may again overshadow the nation’s public health commitments.

- By Ulysses Dorotheo

In 2005, the Philippines ratified the WHO FCTC, committing to protect public health policies from the commercial and vested interests of the tobacco industry, as mandated under FCTC Article 5.3. This means government decisions on tobacco control must be made without industry influence, regardless of the industry's repeated claims about supposed “economic benefits,” because reality tells another story.

While tobacco excise taxes earn the government about P150 billion annually, this pales against the enormous costs of nicotine addiction and tobacco-caused diseases, disabilities, and deaths. In addition to the P263-billion annual economic burden from tobacco use, more than 112,000 Filipinos are killed every year by tobacco-caused diseases, a staggering and preventable toll. Despite these human and socioeconomic costs, the country implements policies that fail to protect people and allow the tobacco industry to flourish.

This vulnerability is reflected in the Philippines receiving five Dirty Ashtray Awards at previous COPs, an international symbol of shame that calls out governments that speak as if they represented tobacco industry interests. This year, with the country’s rank in the 2025 Global Tobacco Industry Interference Index deteriorating to 68" out of 100 countries, we are again at high risk for international disrepute and perhaps more Dirty Ashtrays. In the 2025 FCTC Scorecard, the Philippines also recorded one of the steepest declines in ASEAN for failing to safeguard government policies from tobacco industry interference.