THE government has captured a record-high P17.9 billion of fake goods in the first three quarters of 2018, a haul that is 34.58 percent better than its previous high of P13.3 billion in 2014.
In a report on Monday, the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines said the record as of September is the largest nine-month seizure to date by the interagency National Committee on Intellectual Property Rights (NCIPR), which is headed by the IPOPHL.
According to IPOPHL, the nine-month haul is a whopping 840-percent increase from the P1.9 billion seized during the same period last year. This was also the highest take since the NCIPR was established in 2008.
IPOPHL Director General Josephine R. Santiago said raids on factories and warehouses stockpiling fake cigarettes made the record-high seizure possible.
“The staggering amount of fake and counterfeit goods in the nine months of the year is an outlier seizure. Several operations by the Philippine National Police and the Bureau of Customs led to the raiding of factories and warehouses storing cases of counterfeit cigarette packs bearing brand names and related equipment,” Santiago said.
“This is an indication of the increased vigilance of brand owners, and we urge them to continue enforcing their rights,” she added.
Illicit cigarettes and alcohol took up 86.59 percent, or P15.5 billion, of the P17.9-billion haul. In a separate news briefing on Monday, IPOPHL Deputy Director General Teodoro C. Pascua listed fake Mighty cigarettes as the top seized brand.
The first substantial take of illicit cigarettes and cigarette-production paraphernalia was in February, when P5 billion of it was confiscated in a single operation. Another P1.8 billion of the same products were captured in several operations in May.
Authorities in August nabbed an overwhelming P8 billion of fake cigarette stamps and other consumer items, including cigarettes, clothes and rice, in a warehouse in Quezon City. This greatly boosted the count of this year’s haul.
On the other hand, fake pharmaceuticals and personal care came in second in terms of value at P1.2 billion. Pirated optical media was third at P490 million, while counterfeit handbags and wallets were next at P450 million.
“Enforcement alone may not see the end of fake goods. A change in consumer behaviors and attitudes is necessary to stamp out these illicit trade activities for good,” Santiago argued.
“While the agency remains strong in enforcement, IPOPHL also puts great effort into educating the public about respecting IP [intellectual property] and IP rights. Moving forward, the IPOPHL is pushing for the capacity-building on IP for various sectors, mainstreaming of IP education in the curriculum and seeking other measures for an effective education approach, including social-media advocacy campaigns, to change consumer attitudes and behaviors for a more lasting anticounterfeiting results,” she added.