Ilocos Sur town deploys 40 vehicles funded by tobacco taxes

SAN ILDEFONSO, Ilocos Sur — The municipal government here has launched a fleet of 40 new Toyota Tamaraw FX vehicles funded by revenues from the national tobacco excise tax, marking a significant boost to public services in the town.

Mayor Joseph Simon Valdez announced the vehicle procurement on Friday, which was made possible through the municipality's allocation under Republic Act No. 7171. The deployment aims to strengthen transportation and administrative capabilities across the town's 36 barangays.

According to the announcement, 36 of the newly acquired vehicles will be distributed to the town's barangay units, while the remaining units will support municipal government operations. The initiative represents the local government's effort to leverage excise tax revenues — a portion of which is earmarked for tobacco-producing regions — to enhance public infrastructure and service delivery.

The vehicle rollout comes as municipalities nationwide seek innovative ways to utilize excise tax allocations for community development projects. Officials in San Ildefonso said the fleet expansion would enable faster response times for government services and improve connectivity between the town proper and its outlying barangays.