Philip Morris Philippines Manufacturing Inc. (PMPMI) is willing to provide its technology that uses a numeric bar-code system at a much cheaper price to help government in curbing smuggling.

Christopher James Nelson, PMPMI president said the company's system called Condentify will cost smokers less than 10 centavos per pack, which is significantly cheaper compared with 62 centavos offer of Swiss-firm Sicpa Product Security SA.

Nelson said PMPMI is just waiting for a formal invitation from the Bureau of Internal Revenue and Department of Finance to demonstrate the Condentify system.

“We are extremely pleased that the government has rejected Sicpa and we stand ready to offer our Condentify system,” Nelson told reporters.

If the government adopts the PMPMI's Condentify system, a unique bar code would be printed on cigarette packs that enables BIR to track and trace the products’ movement.

Aside from its cheaper price than Sicpa, Nelson said Condentify is also secured and easier technology to adopt and would not require a scanner, which is every expensive.

“It creates unique codes per pack. The only cost is printing and ink,” he said.

He said Philip Morris could offer the technology at a cost equivalent to only a fraction of what Sicpa is asking.

Condentify system is currently being used in Germany and Portugal.

He said end-users could even use text messaging to verify the bar-code and determine if a particular cigarette shipment is genuine or not and tell where and when it was produced.

Nelson added Condentify system has the approval of all industry players.

“All agree that this is the right system and, therefore, this is an industry proposal not only of Philip Morris,” he said.

Nelson said PMPMI also plans to tap a third party contractor that would administer and monitor the Condentify system to allay fears of conflict of interest.

With its recent “marriage” to Fortune Tobacco, PMPMI now controls more than 90 percent of the cigarette market.

Nelson nevertheless said the government must first formally terminate its negotiations with Sicpa before PMPMI could move in to demonstrate their technology.