P65 million worth of pirated, counterfeit goods destroyed

April 12, 2019

Around P 65 million worth of pirated and counterfeit goods were destroyed by the National Committee on Intellectual Property Rights (NCIPR) and the Philippine National Police ( PNP) on Friday.

These items were destroyed using construction roller and front-end loader.

In his speech, PNP Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management Major General Elmo Sarona urged the public to stop patronizing these goods.

“Intellectual property is very important in economic development of the country. It is after all a tool that can be used to improve the lives of Filipino,” he said.

Sarona assured the public they will remain firm in imposing the Intellectual Property Law and strengthen their war against counterfeiting and piracy.

He said the DIDM, Criminal Investigation and Detection Group and the Anti-Cybercrime Group will work with the other government agencies to address the problem in intellectual property.

“This may serve as a stern warning not to patronize counterfeits and pirated product. We will be very bold in our campaign against piracy and counterfeiting. We will never allow any violator to continue their noted activities,” said Sarona.

“To Filipino people, this may serve as a reminder that pirating and counterfeiting product will do no good and may cause effects to all of you,” he added.

The ceremonial destruction coordinated by the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines was held as part of the celebration of April as National Intellectual Property Rights Month.

The destroyed goods were P 16,100,000 worth Louis Vuitton wallets; P 15,820,000 LV bags; P 10,120,000 different brands of shoes; P 10,000,000 Oppo brand phones & cases; P 7,280,000 LV cellphone cases; P 2,420,000 LV notepad cases; P 1,800,000 Rolex watches; P 1,000,000 Lacoste shirts; P 370,000 cigarettes; P 280,000 LV belts; P 150,000 LV money clips; P 58,500 assorted DVDs; P 50,000 Irwin tools brand-cutting blades and different brands of soap.

According to NCIPR this is a portion of the total seizure in 2018 amounting to P 23.6 billion.

The NCIPR’s total seizure in 2018 of P 23.6 billion worth of pirated and counterfeit goods is an increase of 188 percent percent over 2017.

It is NCIPR’s largest haul since it was created in 2008.

Per type of good, cigarettes amounting to P 20,250,604,055 and alcohol at P 3,000,000 took the lion’s share or 86 percent of the total.

Seized pharmaceutical and personal care products came in second in terms of value, with the year-long haul amounting to P 1.2 billion.

The NCIPR seized P 821 million worth of fake handbags and wallets, while optical media came in fourth at P 790 million.

In 2017, the NCIPR captured a total of P8.2 billion worth of goods, with bulk of the items comprising of consumer electronics.

Out of the 26 operations by PNP, 66 persons were arrested and 15 cases were filed in court.

Meanwhile, the National Bureau of Investigation filed 122 criminal complaints with the Prosecutor’s Office.

“We would like to declare, demonstrate and express in no mean amount but in utmost seriousness one, our deep commitment to rid the country of counterfeit goods and two, our serious efforts to use a whole of government approach,” Intellectual Property Office Deputy Director General Teodoro Pascua said in his speech.

“We are committed to do that now, in the past, and in the coming days,” he added. NCIPR is chaired by the Department of Trade and Industry, with the IPOPHL serving as its vice chair.

Other members are the Department of Justice, Department of the Interior and Local Government, Bureau of Customs, National Telecommunications Commission, National Bureau of Investigation, Philippine National Police, Optical Media Board, National Book Development Board, Food and Drug Administration, and the Office of the Special Envoy on Transnational Crime. Ella Dionisio/DMS