Military destroys 1,561 loose guns

THE military destroyed on Thursday some 1,561 firearms and 55,730 magazine assemblies as part of its efforts to curb the proliferation of illegal and loose firearms in the country. The firearms and magazines were either captured, confiscated, surrendered and recovered (CCSR) through legitimate military operations and community engagements from 2016.

“This program will significantly reduce the number of unserviceable CCSR firearms, and eventually dispose all unofficial and dilapidated weapons in the inventory of the AFP [Armed Forces of the Philippines],” said AFP Chief of Staff Vice Admiral Gaudencio Collado Jr. in a news statement read by AFP Deputy Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Erickson Gloria.

The ceremonial destruction was part of the 12th Founding Anniversary of the AFP Munitions Control Center (MCC), a unit primarily mandated for the accounting and destruction of CCSR firearms and magazines, which were determined as nonstandard, obsolete and beyond economical repair.

It also helps AFP units inspect and maintain their firearms and ensure the serviceability of their issued weapons.

“This translates to the 90 percent completion of the demilitarization program of the Philippine Army. Likewise, I would like to commend the AFP MCC for this successful demilitarization,” Collado said.

CCSR firearms and their various accessories go through a process of identification and verification. Those that will not be used as evidence in court and are not subjected to the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program will not be destroyed and will be turned over to proper authorities.

Those with defaced serial numbers will undergo identification to determine its ownership, while all nonstandard items will be destroyed.

The AFP has an ongoing campaign to recover loose firearms as part of the effort to prevent and counter violent extremism in the country.

Last year, a total of 4,782 assorted unlicensed firearms were confiscated with the help of the local government executives, prominent political families and religious leaders in Mindanao.

DAVAO CITY—The government’s intellectual-property office said online marketing and selling platforms would be asked to submit to wider government regulation to protect consumers from counterfeit items peddled and displayed as genuine items.

Teodoro C. Pascua, deputy director general of the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) said the move to require online platforms to submit to registration and accreditation came as he, likewise, urged wider public vigilance against counterfeit pharmaceutical and personal-care products sold through various modes, saying these items pose clear threats to health.

Pascua said the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) had already invited for discussion online sellers, including the leading platforms Lazada, Shopee, Zalora, Carousell (the former OLX), including Facebook.

“The IPOPHL has already asked them how government could be ensured that while they enhance their sales and promotion, the distribution of products would not include counterfeit goods,” he said.

Pascua said the online platforms were also asked to establish their intellectual-property policies to ensure that the merchants selling their products on their platform would sell only genuine products.

“We have requested them, not only to remove from their site the counterfeit items, but to reject immediately all items that they know are not genuine,” he said. “It’s [not] only about the return and exchange policy, but [more so] on the consumer protection side.”

“Pretty soon, they are ready to submit to a registration, similar to what we require for business to have a business name. There would be a registration online, to be spearheaded by the DTI, then an accreditation from a government body, like what the Bagwis Awards is doing, where they award recognition to companies that are compliant with consumer rights,” Pascua said.

Under this scheme, the government would be able to determine the policies, the processes and the actions undertaken by a specific online company to weed out counterfeit items.

Pascua said the IPOPHL may adapt a similar recognition to online platforms which adhere to the protection of consumers.

“If these are already in place, the registration and accreditation, and yet consumers still buy from non-registered and nonaccredited sources, then we may likely tell these buyers, that’s your problem,” he added.

Meanwhile, Pascua has urged wider awareness and vigilance to the proliferation of counterfeit food, medicines and personalcare goods, both sold online, or in business establishments.

He said pharmaceutical and personal-care products landed on the list of the most counterfeited items, along with cigarettes and alcohol, handbags and wallets, optical media and footwear.

“We don’t want to be alarmist here but to a certain degree, we are. We don’t want you to be in a difficult situation, and to tell us later, why we were not warned. Don’t buy cosmetics products that have foreign labels that you cannot read,” Pascua said.

“The President has already warned that he would file cases of economic sabotage against those found counterfeiting the medicines,” he said.

“We know that the motivating factor is price. But do not fall into that trap, when you also endanger your health,” Pascua added.

Chester Arturo D. Cinco, chief of the Secretariat of the National Committee on Intellectual Property Rights, also warned about the proliferation of faked food items and condiments.

“While they are of much lesser value compared to the cigarettes and handbags and wallets, they are of serious concern because these threaten the health of persons,” he said.

This year, government confiscated counterfeit products valued at P1.8 billion, although the IPOPHL was still awaiting reports from the 12 government agencies and expects the figure to go up. Last year was the highest catch in confiscations, reaching P23.55 billion.

Cigarettes and alcohol, pharmaceutical and personal care, handbags and wallets, optical media and footwear were the most widely copied, the IPOPHL said.

Pascua added cigarettes and alcohol topped the list of confiscated items during raids.

Based on last year ‘s figures, the confiscated items were valued at P20.2 billion, or 85.77 percent of the total. Food was in the 10th spot at P3.3 billion.

Pascua said the Bureau of Customs contributed to the most number of seized items at the ports, although lawyer Ann N. Edillon of the Bureau of Patents said most counterfeit products did not pass through the regular ports.

“Some may enter through the regular ports but not as finished items, but as ingredients, where people make the finished products here. But many fake products enter our country though the different coastal areas,” she said.