Baby thrown out with the bathwater

Trading licence fees for all liquor businesses were again increased, with some rising by as much 100%. Bottle store owners are now expected to part ways with P1,000, while nightclubs will cough up P4,000.

Ostensibly, the tightening of liquor laws and regulations around the sector in general since 2008, has been to clamp down on rising drunkenness, alcoholism and associated ills such as road traffic accidents, HIV/AIDS, crime and the weight on the public health system.