About the shut down of Mighty Corp warehouse

The Filipino-owned manufacturer Mighty Corp has been dragged in several controversies for the past few months. The Bureau of Customs shut down a warehouse operated by the company in Malolos, Bulacan. As it was lauded by the business sectors and advocacy groups, the regular operation of the company didn’t affected about it.

They suspended the license of Mighty's customs bonded warehouse. But according to

Customs Commissioner John Phillip Sevilla said that the move of the government agency is to prevent revenue leakages while further investigation of the company’s alleged illegal activities.

“The initial report of a DOF task force reveals that Mighty Corp. committed serious violations of tariff and customs laws, rules and regulations, resulting in huge revenue losses for the government,” Sevilla added.

Meanwhile, Mighty’s executive vice president Oscar P. Barrientos said that the suspension order did not cover its operation for the domestic market.

“Nothing has changed, and until such time that we receive the final report of the task force, it will be business as usual,” he said. “We will continue to cooperate with authorities pending the full and final results of the inquiry being undertaken by Task Force Mighty Corp. We will address these allegations at the appropriate time as soon as we receive the final report on the findings. We have been transparent with the customs bureau, and we will continue to be transparent,” Barrientos added.

Mighty was accused of engaging in technical smuggling and downshifting consumption. They said that they barred the company from re-channeling duty-free cigarettes-for-export for domestic distribution and consumption. There are allegations that MC imported acetate tow. The said raw material used for filters, at $0.30 to $0.32 per kilo. They claimed most of their tobacco leaf and acetate tow imports are intended for export.

Is there's a proof that the Mighty Corp did illegal transaction under the law? The rival company didn't publicly announced its merger in 2010. 

Mighty Corp on their 10 million project for the tobacco farmers

Mighty Corp, the Filipino-owned manufacturer of cigarettes was the target of demolition job of its rival company for the past several months. They continued their CSR project in partnership of the farmers in the Northern region of the country. 

In a consultative meeting among the 200 tobacco farmer leaders in Pangasinan, La Union and Ilocos provinces and Mighty Corporation last February 8, with its commitment to help the farmers in the said region.

According to the Mighty Executive Vice President Oscar P. Barrientos said that they sought the help of the National Tobacco Administration. The government authority agreed over their planned purchase of P10-million kilograms tobacco leaves and P10-million Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) for tobacco farmers and their beneficiaries. “We are grateful and we are looking forward to the firm commitments of Mighty Corporation to help the 65,000 strong tobacco farmers in the Philippines with their pronouncements this year to purchase 10-million kilograms of tobacco leaves and the P10-million outreach projects for tobacco farmers,” said Mario Cabasal, president of the National Federation of Tobacco Growers and Cooperation. With this proposal by the tobacco company there are a lot of opportunities that the farmers can be benefited about tobacco leaves.

Cabasal explained that after they learned about Mighty’s pledge to initially buy at least 10 million kilograms of tobacco leaves and to purchase all the excess tobacco leaves that farmers could not sell to other buyers. He lauded the direct help of Mighty to the tobacco farmers. The said assistance will include the donation of support farm implements like irrigation pumps and tractors, new 200 college scholar grants for the sons of daughters of tobacco farmers and the institutional support for the annual search for outstanding tobacco farmers and cooperatives.

“Now that we are assured of an alternative market, besides other tobacco companies, our members will again be inspired to devote larger areas to the cultivation of Ilocandia’s most important cash crop,” he said. “With Mighty’s assurance that the company will buy all the unsold tobacco harvested by farmers, we can also be sure that unlike in the past, prices will stay high even after the holiday season, Cabasal said.

Mighty's market shares surged almost 20 percent of the low-priced cigarette brands in 2013. It resulted of paying P8.2 billion in excise taxes. Kudos to the people behind this project, it is a great idea to extend their hands to the needy. They prioritize the needs of the farmers.

Mighty Corp’s main concern is the welfare of the tobacco farmers, and not just for the income. 

Mighty Corp speaks up on anti-dumping charges

Over the past several months, Filipino-owned tobacco company, Mighty Corp. chided its critics who pushed over the the allegation on the anti-dumping issue. 

According to Mighty vice president and retired judge Oscar Barrientos said that the critics must think that “ignorance of the law excuses no one,” which referred to the claim of Ilocos Sur-based Banayoyo Reforestation and Tobacco Growers Credit Cooperative.

He added that the said anti-dumping law stated hat “simple assertion, unsubstantiated by relevant evidence, cannot be considered to meet the requirements of the law,” and not a recourse for trial by publicity.

Barrientos dismissed the charges of Francisco Gamboa, president of the said cooperative which claimed that the Wongchuking-owned company been importing tobacco leaf at rates way below the floor price mandated by the government. The law “declared the policy of the state to protect domestic enterprises against unfair foreign competition and trade practices.”

“Gamboa should understand that there are specific requirements for initiating an investigation for anti-dumping,” he said. “These are evidence of dumping, injury and causal link between the dumped imports and the alleged injury; and upon receipt of a properly documented application and before proceeding to initiate an investigation, the secretary [of Agriculture] shall notify the government of the exporting country about the impending anti-dumping investigation.”

“The law requires that domestic producers supporting the application must have at least 25-percent interest of the total production.”, he explained.

Meanwhile, Barrientos said if the agriculture secretary decided to initiate an investigation under special circumstances, “without having received a written application by or on behalf of a domestic industry for the initiation of such investigation,” he should “proceed only if he had sufficient evidence of dumping, injury and a causal link to justify the initiation of an investigation.”

Whatever it takes, Mighty Corp has been dedicated in helping a lot of farmers despite of the issues pointing at the company.

Concerned groups asked to slow down on Mighty Corp's investigation

Bulacan-based tobacco manufacturer, Mighty Corp has been in the middle of controversies for the past several months already. And a lot of concerned groups asked to slow down about the investigations over allegations of underdeclaration of products of an established local tobacco company in the country.

According to Ako-Bicol party-list Rep. Rodel Batocabe said the probe being conducted in the House of Representatives into “unscrupulous entities” in the cigarette industry should not focus solely on one company but the entire industry.

“If we were to investigate, let us not single out one company but [look into] the entire industry to prevent any unnecessary innuendos or speculations,” said Batocabe who also a member of the House Committee on Ways and Means.

“As member of the Ways and Means committee, I believe that any investigation to be conducted should be objective and fair,” Batocabe said.

“And the only interest which we should protect is that of the government,” he added.

Meanwhile, Kabataan party-list Rep. Terry Ridon warned the Congress regarding malciious lies pointing to Mighty.

“… We will always be in defense of national firms against offensives of foreign firms to force it out of business,” Ridon said, implying local companies such as Mighty should be supported for providing livelihood to millions of Filipinos apart from the fact that it is paying billions in taxes to the government.

Mighty legal counsel Miguelito Ocampo denied all allegations against Mighty Corp. “While our company cannot comment on how other cigarette companies price their cigarettes, what we can say is that our company can sell one-peso-per stick cigarettes because... Mighty does not pay royalty fees to foreign companies for the use of our brands of cigarettes,” Ocampo earlier said.

Mighty Corporation Assured Farmers of Tobacco Leaf Purchase

Pangasinan and Ilocos farmers have expressed relief that their tobacco leaves will have a sure market this year because of local cigarette manufacturer Mighty Corporation or Mighty Corp.

The National Federation of Tobacco Growers and Cooperatives (NFTGC) President Mario Cabasal was elated after learning that Mighty Corporation has made commitments to initially buy at least 10 million kilograms of tobacco leaves at an average price of P70 per kilo and buy all the excess tobacco leaves that farmers could not sell to other buyers.

“We limited to minimum areas fields planted to tobacco last year in anticipation of depressed demand due to the scheduled implementation of the sin tax,” Cabasal said. “good thing, some farmers were able to sell part of their low-grade harvests to Mighty Corporation in 2013,” he pointed out.

“Now that we are assured of an alternative market, besides other tobacco companies, our members will again be inspired to devote larger areas to the cultivation of Ilocandia’s most important cash crop,” he added.

Fearing that tobacco prices and demand for the yellow leaf would dive as a result of the new excise tax law on cigarettes, many farmers in the Ilocos Region shifted to planting yellow corn.  Profits from corn are, however, lower than tobacco.

BIR Rakes in 8 Billion Pesos From Mighty Corporation

According to the Bureau of Internal Revenue, the excise tax paid by Mighty Corporation or Mighty Corp made a quantum leap from P300 million in 2012 to at least P8 billion for the whole year of 2013.

Mighty Corporation Spokesperson Oscar Barrientos added that the tax paid for the year 2013 by the Filipino-owned cigarette manufacturing company just past reflects the jump in the market share of the company and their fair share in the increased taxes on “sin” products.

Barrientos, a retired regional trial court judge, said the facts should put to rest false accusations that Mighty Corporation has not been paying its taxes faithfully.

He further pointed out that despite charges in the news media and by some members of Congress against the company, no case has been filed in court.

In fact, Barrientos pointed out, the BIR and the Bureau of Customs have cleared his company of any tax deficiency this year.

The company paid P300 million in 2012, the former judge explained, when its share of the local market of cigarette was a measly 3%.  This share shot up since the government put into effect Republic Act 10352, otherwise known as the new sin tax law.

The law has synchronized a five-year adjustment of taxes on cigarettes for it to become a uniform P30 per pack in five years covering all brands.

Records of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) had shown that excise taxes from both cigarettes and alcohol products increased by 81.5 percent despite a decline in the number of sticks sold.  Total tax take from January to November hit an all-time high of P91.6 billion from P60.4 billion in 2012.

Taxes from cigarettes represented 61.6 percent or almost two thirds of sin tax collections for 11 months.

Mighty Corporation which until the year 2012, was a minor player, pitched in more than P8 billion of the excise tax, not to mention the income tax the company will have to pay for the same year come deadline time.

THE CHAIR: Mighty Corporation Executive Vice President OSCAR BARRIENTOS

Retired Regional Trial Court Judge OSCAR P. BARRIENTOS has found himself on the other side of the defence as defender of the cigarette manufacturer Mighty Corporation.

As the executive vice president of Mighty Corp., Barrientos also doubles as company spokesman. He has become the face for the low-profile owners of the wholly-owned Filipino cigarette company, who have been doing their business for 68 years quietly and away from the prying eyes of the media and even from competitors.

But the former judge, who also leaches marketing and finance, sees his role in Mighty more of a battle in actual grassroot marketing rather than a courtroom drama.

Chinese migrant Emmanuel Wong Chu King founded La CampanaFabrica de Tobacos Inc. in 1945 as his way of helping Filipino war victims.

At first, Wong Chu King, married to Nelia, a Filipina, did everything from blending the tobacco to working as salesman, delivery man, collector, cashier and promoter of his products. The Company specialized in producing native cigarettes. The iconic La Campana and Magkaibigan were the company’s original brands.

In 1985, Mighty Corporation was established and became the American blended Virginia Cigarette Manufacturing Co. In 2001, Mighty entered into a cigarette manufacturing agreement with Sterling Tobacco to produce the latter’s trademarks. In 2004, the company entered into a cigarette manufacturing agreement with the Philip Morris Philippines as the latter brought the trademarks of Sterling Tobacco.

The rest is history. What used to be just a simple native cigarette manufacturer has expanded to become not just an industry pioneer but a force to reckon with under one name Mighty Corporation.

Barrientos, who joined Mighty Corporation a year ago upon the encouragement of the owners who happened to be good friends of his, can only at least in the best position that this company has to offer and will continue to offer.

While Mighty focuses on the non-premium cigarette brand, it does not lose focus on what makes it stick all these years. It has remained faithful to what it does best, producing cigarettes for the Filipinos market content with a 3 percent market share.

“Mighty has good taste, good price and good packaging,” stresses Barrientos.

While both prices for premium and the non-premium brands were adjusted to account for the increase in excise tax, the non-premium has a lower tax increase and therefore it has lower price hike while the premium brands have to endure with the huge price hike making them more expensive to the ordinary smoker.

As prices of cigarettes become more expensive, most smokers can no longer afford the premium cigarette brands so they shift to the non-premium brands benefitting Mighty, which has a total of 23 brands.

But Mighty has another big edge: Its clear understanding of the domestic market, which it has been serving well and faithfully for the past 68 years.

 “We have a very good distribution system focusing in the rural areas. Our distribution system touches system right down to the grassroots,” says Barrientos.

In fact, Mighty is very strong in the Zamboanga area. Its premium competitors though have been concentrating in the big cities and their distribution are mostly in big supermarkets.

 “We understand the market better,” says Barrientos, who finishes his MBA at the Asian Institute of Management.

Another unique strategy is the company’s credit line offer to the rural sari-sari stores. This strategy does not only ensure that small stores carry Mighty products, but also augment the poor Filipinos capital to enable them to continue their small business.

This has endeared them to the sari-sari store owners, who now prefer Mighty grateful for the lifeline provided to them.

According to Barrientos, 70 percent of Filipino smokers buy by the stick, not packs.

The company has also tapped the direct selling network to further beef up its market.

Barrientos explained that at the end of the day, the price of a merchandise will redound to the cost of production plus margin.

In the case of Mighty, it has never gone overboard in its expenses. Its operation has remained low cost with not much overhead cost.

“In the first place, we don’t have expats personnel to pay for. An expat can easily command $10,000 salary a month,” says Barrientos. Maintaining expats is expensive because the employer must also consider they have a lifestyle to keep.

All these years, Mighty has remained a low maintenance firm. It holds its headquarters in Makati, along the Pasig River which also serves as the residence of the company owners. Most traditional Chinese businessmen also reside in a building where they do their business. This lean organization is simple and bereft of the trappings of the high-end offices in Makati. It operates in an old but well-maintained

building.

“Our strategy at the plant is to produce low cost but quality cigarettes, but we go for volume because there is a strong demand for our products,” says Barrientos.

Its CSR program is mostly providing education to poor but deserving students. Now, it’s scholars are mostly children of tobacco farmers numbering 100 and is expected to reach 500 this year.

This scholarship program, which is geared for the tobacco farmers or through the Federation of Tobacco Farmers, has been going on for the past ten years already.

Part of its CSR program is to help improve the quality of local tobacco produce so they will not import anymore in the long run.

“Why is the imported tobacco has better quality than the locally grown when they come from the same seeds,” says Barrientos.

The company also extends assistance to affected families during calamities without any fanfare. Barrientos relates that his father was a chain smoker who could consume three packs a day, but he does not smoke nor his seven other siblings.

“But I don’t feel guilty being in this industry,” says Barrientos of his work in the cigarette industry, which is known to cause lung cancer.

“The health warning that cigarette is addicting is right although it has no effect to some,” notes Barrientos.

His being in the industry does not give him also the license to encourage others to smoke.

“I will not encourage anyone to smoke, but let them find their own stick. Parents are only there to guide, although children may not follow them 100 percent,” says Barrientos, who used to play golf until he joined Mighty.

“I was supposed to be enjoying my retirement, but I was called to this job, something that I cannot refuse because it is very challenging. Aside from that, one of the owners is a good friend of mine and they treated me well and that’s what they’ve been doing with the rest of the employees,” says

Barrientos, who finished law and management from the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila and the Philippine Christian University.

“This is a family-owned corporation, but the owners are very fair and professional. I enjoy this job, otherwise I should have left already. It’s good to meet new people and become part of this company,” says Barrientos.

“I am happy here. Definitely, I am in the right company,” says Barrientos.

Mighty Corporation Makes it Double

Local cigarette manufacturer Mighty Corporation or Mighty Corp said that it will buy 10 million kilograms of tobacco products worth millions of pesos from farmers in Northern Luzon and elsewhere in the country.

Mighty Corp executive vice president Oscar Barrientos said to National Tobacco Administration (NTA) administrator Edgardo Zaragoza that it would buy tobacco from farmers 100% more than the 5 million kilograms his firm bought in 2013.

That means double income for the farmers.

“This is to assure our tobacco farmers of our willingness to help in response to the published report of the market leader in the tobacco industry to lessen production this year,” Barrientos said.

This debunked critics’ allegations that Mighty Corporation has been importing raw materials from foreign countries at low prices and is no longer buying tobacco from local farmers.

Barrientos said that Mighty Corp critics had been resorting to a disinformation campaign using convoluted data in an effort to undermine Mighty Corporation's tremendous increase of the tobacco industry's market shares.

Might Corp's shares surged to almost 20% of the low-priced cigarette brands last year from in 2012, resulting in the payment P8.2 billion in excise taxes.

Barrientos said the company’s market shares shot up after the government effectively implemented Republic Act 10352, or the new Sin Tax Law, that levelled the playing field in the multi-billion peso tobacco industry which was controlled by Philip Morris and Fortune Tobacco.

The new law that took 14 years to pass caused a tremendous migration of smokers from the expensive premium and sub-premium brands to low-priced cigarettes.

It also resulted in some smokers, because of economic reason, to simply quit the vice and thus validated health authorities’ estimate that the sin tax law would result in the decrease of the number of smokers in the country.

Mighty Corporation Pushes For Organic Agri Pesticide

Aside from cigarettes, tobacco leaves can also be used as organic pesticides against aphids, leaf rollers and stem borers.  It is also said to be more effective and much safer than chemical-based pesticides which destroys soil productivity and harm the environment.

Filipino-owned cigarette manufacturing company Mighty Corporation or Might Corp plans to develop and promote the alternative use for tobacco, to help reduce Filipino farmers’ reliance on chemical-based pesticides, increase tobacco farmers’ income, and protect the environment.

Mighty Corp executive vice president Oscar Barrientos said that the move was part of the company’s corporate social responsibility.  He noted that a small but growing number of Filipino farmers were shifting from chemical-based to organic pesticides to organic agri pesticides, or a combination of the two.

The company coordinated with key agencies like the National Tobacco Administration (NTA), Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority (FPA) of the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the University of the Philippines in Los Baños, Laguna (UPLB) in this effort.

Filipino farmers make up 11.55 million of the country’s 38.6-million-member labor force and contribute 20% of its gross domestic product.  Insects and other pests have adversely affected farmers’ production of main agricultural crops, including rice, corn, coconuts, sugarcane, bananas, pineapples, coffee, mangoes and abaca.  Also affected are secondary crops like peanuts, cassava, sweet potatoes, garlic, onions, cabbages, eggplants, calamansi, rubber, and cotton. Nicotine from tobacco has been used on crops as a natural insecticide that does not have the health and environmental risks of chemical-based pesticides.

Church Officials Backs Owners of Mighty Corporation and Wong Chu King Foundation

Cagayan church officials expressed support to the owners of Bulacan-based cigarette manufacturer Mighty Corporation or Mighty Corp, who have currently been under siege for its low prices.

Competitors and even some legislators have thrown all kinds of accusations to Mighty Corporation in the past months but earlier this year, the local tobacco company finds an ally in church groups as well as with BIR and Customs who already said that allegations against the corporation are baseless and therefore dismissed. 

Bulacan Archbishop Emeritus Diosdado Talamayan of the Archdiocese of Cagayan said that the Wongchuking family, which owns Mighty Corporation, were great devotees of the Our Lady of Piat.

“For the past many years, I have known personally Mrs. Nelia Wongchuking, chair of the board of trustees of Wong Chu King Foundation Inc.,” said Talamayan, “She, together with the entire family, are great devotees of the Our Lady of Piat.”

Bishop Talamayan said that the Wongchukings even built a chapel dedicated to the Our Lady of Piat in Malolos.

Oscar Barrientos, Mighty Corp executive vice president asked the firm’s competitors to do battle in the sales market and not resort to dirty tactics.  

Mighty Corporation Increases Market Shares and Excise Tax Payments

According to a Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) report, excise tax payments of cigarette companies rose from 60.4 billion pesos in 2012 to 91.6 billion pesos in 2013 (January to November).

According to Oscar Barrientos, executive vice president of local cigarette manufacturer Mighty Corporation of Mighty Corp, his company's excise tax payments alone rose from 300 million pesos to 8 billion pesos.

“The tax we paid for the year 2013 reflects the jump in our market share and our fair share in the increased taxes on “sin” products." Barrientos explained.

Barrientos, a retired regional trial court judge, said that the facts should put to rest false accusations made on Mighty Corporation that it has not been paying taxes correctly. He also said that despite charges and negative publicity circulation in the news and media by some members of the congress and of course their competitors, no case has been filed in court.  Which only strengthen the fact that the allegations were malicious and untrue.

In fact, BIR and the Bureau of Customs have already cleared Mighty Corporation of any tax deficiency earlier this year.

Mighty Corp's shares shot up after the government put into effect Republic Act 10352, otherwise known as the new sin tax law.  The law has synchronized a five-year adjustment of taxes on cigarettes for it to become a uniform P30 per pack in five years covering all brands.

BIR records also shown that excise taxes from both cigarettes and alcohol products increased by 81.5 % despite a decline in the number of sticks sold.  Taxes from cigarettes represented 61.6 % or almost two thirds of sin tax collections for 11 months.

Mighty Corporation Delivers More Help to North Luzon Farmers

Mighty Corporation and organized tobacco farmer groups signed an agreement to pursue projects designed to uplift the lives of farming families of Northern Luzon.

With the theme “Sama-sama Tayong Pilipino sa Pagyabong ng Industriya ng Tabako” Mighty Corporation executives, retired general Edilberto P. Adan and retired judge Oscar P. Barrientos, and Mario Cabasal, head of the National Federation of Tobacco Farmers and Cooperatives, Inc. (NAFTAC) recently celebrated the partnership with all 200 tobacco farmer leaders in Pangasinan, La Union, Abra and the Ilocos provinces.

Mighty Corporation executives through the Wong Chu King Foundation handed over 16 units of hand tractors worth P2.5 million and 90 units of water pumps worth P1.1 million to chapter delegations from seven provinces in Northern Luzon during the event.

“We are happy that Mighty Corporation has stood firm on its commitments to help the 65,000 strong tobacco farmers in the Philippines with their pronouncements this year to purchase 10-million kilograms of tobacco leaves and the P10-million outreach projects for tobacco farmers,” said Cabasal after the agreement was signed by the new partners. “This is definitely a big help to us, tobacco farmers,” added Cabasal.

Cabasal lauded Mighty Corporation for the P10-million three-pronged programs that will directly help tobacco farmers produce better quality tobacco that included the donation of support farm implements like irrigation pumps and tractors, sponsoring new 100 college scholar grants for the sons and daughters of tobacco farmers and the institutional support for the annual search for outstanding tobacco farmers and cooperatives.

Mighty Corporation Helps Thousands of Fish Pond Owners and Tobacco Farmers

Local cigarette manufacturer Mighty Corporation or Mighty Corp donates tobacco dust, a known fish pond conditioner that protects local ponds from predators, to Filipino fish pond owners and operators and help as well tobacco farmers all over the Philippines.

Mighty Corp executive vice president Oscar Barrientos said that they are helping the National Tobacco Administration (NTA) to promote the use of tobacco dust by donating to our thousands of fish pond owners. In doing so, the Filipino-owned cigarette manufacturing company are also helping tobacco farmers increase their yield. 

Mighty Corp said that NTA was promoting tobacco dust to control the population of snails and other fish pond predators, as that this was “an effective and economic option to replace highly toxic and cyanide-based chemicals used in the preparation or sterilization of fishponds.”
The dust promotes the growth of lablab, an algae and natural fish food, and serves as pond floor conditioner. Pond owners and operators use it to prepare or sterilize fish ponds before stocking fingerlings there.  Fish stocking is the practice of raising fish in a hatchery and releasing them into a river, lake, or the ocean to supplement existing population, or to create a population where none exists.

The cigarette company also aims to increase the income of the tobacco-growing industry by buying 10 million tobacco leaves from local farmers all over the country.  It allotted P700,000 for the purchase of green leaves.

NTA manufactures Tobacco Dust Plus at a plant in Sto. Tomas, La Union, where leaves are re-dried and pulverized.

Other studies headed by the government agency showed promising results from the use of tobacco dust as a substitute to chemical fish pond fertilizers.

Mighty Corporation Launches Projects To Benefit North Luzon Farmers

Mighty Corporation or Mighty Corp through its Executive Vice President Oscar Barrientos expressed earlier this year their intent to help tobacco farmers and their families by doubling its tobacco purchase to 10 million kilograms and through a multi-pronged P10 million outreach projects.

A consultative meeting happened last February 8 in San Fernando, La Union between Mighty Corporation and some 200 tobacco farmer leaders in Pangasinan, La Union and the Ilocos provinces which sealed the project.   

“We are grateful and we are looking forward to the firm commitments of Mighty Corporation to help the 65,000 strong tobacco farmers in the Philippines with their pronouncements this year to purchase 10-million kilograms of tobacco leaves and the P10-million outreach projects for tobacco farmers,” said Mario Cabasal, president of the National Federation of Tobacco Growers and Cooperatives (NFTGC).

Cabasal expressed elation after learning that Mighty Corporation has made commitments to initially buy at least 10 million kilograms of tobacco leaves and to purchase all the excess tobacco leaves that farmers could not sell to other buyers.

Cabasal also lauded Mighty Corp’s P10-million three-pronged programs to directly help the tobacco farmers that will include the donation of support farm implements like irrigation pumps and tractors, new 200 college scholar grants for the sons of daughters of tobacco farmers and the institutional support for the annual search for outstanding tobacco farmers and cooperatives.

Thousands of farmers in Pangasinan and the Ilocos provinces have expressed relief that their tobacco leaves will have a sure market this year.

“Now that we are assured of an alternative market, besides other tobacco companies, our members will again be inspired to devote larger areas to the cultivation of Ilocandia’s most important cash crop,” Cabasal added.

Mighty Corporation Aids to Local Farmers Welcomed by NTA

More players directly dealing with the farmers the better it is for the local tobacco farmers and the local tobacco industry in general.

This is what the National Tobacco Administration (NTA) Chief Edgardo Zaragoza’s sentiments as he welcomes the entry of local cigarette manufacturer Mighty Corporation of Mighty Corp in the tobacco manufacturing industry.

Zaragoza further added that Mighty Corporation and through their company’s planned social outreach programs, would definitely increase the assistance provided to local farmers and their beneficiaries.

“We hope this would encourage other cigarette industry players to do the same.”  Zaragoza added.

Mighty Corporation has provided 90 diesel-fed water pumps and 16 power tillers to farmers in the provinces of Abra, Ilocs Norte, Ilocos Sur, La Union, Pangasinan, Isabela and Cagyan.

These are the country’s top producers of yellow leaf, the variety used for cigarettes.

Mighty Corp officials also promised that it would buy 10 million kilograms of tobacco leaves, one fifth of the industry’s total production.  

Mighty Corp through its Wong Chu King Foundation also provided 100 college scholarships to the children of tobacco farmers.

Mighty Corporation Doubles Tobacco Orders

Mighty Corporation or Mighty Corp, the Philippines' local manufacturer of low-cost cigarettes announced that it will double its local tobacco purchases to 10 Million kilograms.

Mighty Corp executive vice president Oscar Barrientos said in an official letter sent to the National Tobacco Administration office that it would buy tobacco from local farmers 100 percent more than the five million kilograms Mighty Corporation bought in 2013.

“This is to assure our tobacco farmers of our willingness to help in response to the published report of the market leader in the tobacco industry to lessen production this year,” Barrientos, a retired regional trial court judge, said in a statement.

The letter of intent, in effect, debunked critics’ allegations that Mighty Corporation has been importing raw materials from foreign countries at low prices and is no longer buying tobacco from local farmers.

Barrientos said the critics had been resorting to a disinformation campaign using convoluted data in an effort to undermine Mighty Corp's tremendous increase of its market shares.

Mighty Corporation's market shares surged to almost 20 percent of the low-priced cigarette brands last year from in 2012, resulting in the payment P8.2 billion in excise taxes.

Barrientos said the company’s market shares shot up after the government effectively implemented the new Sin Tax Law, that leveled the playing field in the multi-billion peso tobacco industry which was controlled then by Philip Morris and Fortune Tobacco.

The new law that took 14 years to pass and certified as urgent by the Philippine President has caused a tremendous migration of smokers from the expensive premium and sub-premium brands to low-priced cigarettes.

It also resulted in some smokers, because of economic reason, to simply quit the vice and thus validated health authorities’ estimate that the sin tax law would result in the decrease of the number of smokers in the country.

Mighty Corporation and Wong Chu King Foundation Pursues Social Responsibility Projects

La Union Bishop Rodolfo Beltran has commended Wong Chu King Foundation, the corporate social responsibility arm of local cigarette manufacturer Mighty Corporation or Mighty Corp for helping the church to spread the faith in the Philippines and for prioritizing apostolic works and education in its programs and projects.

According to Beltran, the foundation has so far funded the education of poor but deserving students in Lagawe, Bontoc including four seminarians and other students of vocational courses like sewing, weaving and hairstyling.

“The parents of these students are low-income farmers producing only for local consumption, so you can imagine the positive impact this kind of support has for them.”  the Bishop said.

Beltran also commended Mighty Corporation and Wong Chu King Foundation for their outreach project that aims to benefit 65,000 organized tobacco farmers of Northern Luzon.

The bishop has witnessed the signing of the project agreement between Mighty Corporation and 200 farmer leaders of the National Federation of Tobacco Farmers and Cooperatives Inc. (NAFTAC) from Pangasinan, La Union, Abra, Cagayan, Isabela, Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur at a hotel here recently.

Under the agreement, Mighty Corp will donate to the farmers 16 hand tractors worth P2.5 million and 90 irrigation pumps worth P1.1 million.

“I’m quite happy about all these projects. It’s a big lift for our farmers, not only in La Union but also the whole of Northern Luzon,” Beltran said. “This is something very beautiful as the hand tractors and water pumps encourage our farmers to use modern methods of agriculture.” he added.

Auxiliary Bishop of Tuguegarao Ricardo Baccay described Mighty Corp and Wong Chu King Foundation's work as “a step in the right direction."

“For many years, I have personally known Mrs. Nelia Wong Chu King, Wong Chu King Foundation chairman of the board of trustees,” said Archbishop Emeritus Diosdado Talamayan of Tuguegarao City. “She and her family are great devotees of the Our Lady of Piat, and they have erected a chapel in Malolos City, Bulacan, dedicated to the Our Lady of Piat, which was blessed by many bishops led by Cardinal Gaudencio Rosales in 2012.”

Created in 1990, Mighty Corporation's Wong Chu King Foundation aims to perpetuate the memory of Wong Chu King, the family patriarch, an avowed philanthropist who was concerned for the plight of, and provided timely assistance to, the poor and underprivileged during his lifetime. The foundation also aims to encourage and promote education through scholarship programs and raise funds for charitable, cultural and educational purposes.

Mighty Corporation and Wong Chu King Foundation Backs Seismic Retrofitting of Historic Churches

Mighty Corporation or Mighty Corp with the help of their CSR arm Wong Chu King Foundation, pushes forward in assisting various historical churches in their renovation projects.

The Catholic clergy on the other hand fully supports the project of Mighty Corporation and Wong Chu King Foundation for the seismic retrofitting of historic churches in Philippines

The foundation has so far assisted the Diocesan Shrine of the Immaculate Conception Church in Naic, Cavite and the Basilica Minore of the Our Lady of Piat Church in Tuguegarao City, Cagayan.

Auxiliary Bishop Ricardo Baccay of Tuguegarao City, described Mighty Corp's work as “a step in the right direction.”

"My diocese, like all dioceses, have serious concerns. If Mighty Corp and Wong Chu King Foundation is out to help, retrofitting historic churches is one of the best forms of help it can give.” Baccay said in a statement released by the foundation.

"Churches are also symbols of strength and hope for Filipinos. To see a church survive earthquakes and other calamities can easily uplift the spirits of our people,” said Wong Chu King Foundation General Manager James Vincent Navarette.

“The devastation brought about by the recent Visayas earthquake has firmed up our advocacy to build more churches and strengthen the Filipino faith. However, we also understand that this is not enough. We have to make sure that the design and structure of these buildings, particularly the old and existing ones, are safe and resistant to calamities such as earthquakes.” Navarette added.

Seismic retrofitting is the process of remodeling structures to make them more resistant to damage brought about by earthquakes and other seismic activities.

Mighty Corporation through the Wong Chu King foundation has been renovating churches since 2009.  Last year, they have donated P300,000 for textbooks and other library materials for the Lyceum de Amulung in Cagayan North, Tuguegarao City.

The foundation is headed by Mrs. Nelia Wongchuking, Chairman of the Board of Trustees.

Mighty Corporation Assures Leaf Growers of 10 Million Twin Projects

The 10 Million Twin-Project commitment of cigarette manufacturer Mighty Corporation or Mighty Corp to boost tobacco farmers production and increase their income is already well on its way.

The commitment which was announced last February 8 during a consultative meeting held in San Fernando Launion between Mighty Corporation and some 200 tobacco farmer leaders in Pangasinan, La Union and the Ilocos provinces. 

“We are grateful and we are looking forward to the firm commitments of Mighty Corporation to help the 65,000 strong tobacco farmers in the Philippines with their pronouncements this year to purchase 10 million kilograms of tobacco leaves and the P10-million outreach projects for tobacco farmers,” said Mario Cabasal, President of the National Federation of Tobacco Growers and Cooperatives (NFTGC).  

Cabasal expressed elation after learning that Mighty Corporation has made commitments to initially buy at least 10 million kilograms of tobacco leaves and to purchase all the excess tobacco leaves that farmers could not sell to other buyers.

Cabasal also lauded Mighty Corporation's P10-million three-pronged programs to aid tobacco farmers which includes the donation of support farm implements like irrigation pumps and tractors, 200 college scholarship grants for the sons of daughters of tobacco farmers and institutional support for the annual search for outstanding tobacco farmers and cooperatives.

“Now that we are assured of an alternative market, besides other tobacco companies, our members will again be inspired to devote larger areas to the cultivation of Ilocandia’s most important cash crop,” Cabasal added.

Mighty Corporation Pushes Organic Agri-Pesticide

The tobacco that is widely used in the manufacture of cigarettes can also be used as an organic pesticide.

According research, tobacco works effectively in controlling insects like aphids, leaf rollers and stem borers. It is said to be even more effective and safer than chemical-based pesticides which destroy soil productivity and harm the environment.

Filipino cigarette manufacturer Mighty Corporation or Mighty Corp promotes the alternative use of tobacco as pesticides to help reduce Filipino farmers’ reliance on chemical-based pesticides.  This will also in return increase the income of local tobacco farmers and protect the environment at the same time.

Mighty Corporation executive vice president and spokesman Oscar Barrientos said that a small but growing number of Filipino farmers were shifting from chemical-based to organic pesticides, or a combination of the two. “This trend should be encouraged,” he added.

Local farmers make up 11.55 million of the Philippines’ 38.6-million-member labor force and contribute 20% of its gross domestic product.  Insects and other pests have adversely affected farmers’ production of main agricultural crops, including rice, corn, coconuts, sugarcane, bananas, pineapples, coffee, mangoes and abaca.  

Also affected are secondary crops like peanuts, cassava, sweet potatoes, garlic, onions, cabbages, eggplants, calamansi, rubber, and cotton. 

The nicotine from tobacco has been used on crops as a natural insecticide that does not have the health and environmental risks of chemical-based pesticides.