Cebu stalls selling pirated discs raided
CEBU CITY–Several sacks of pirated CDs and DVDs worth at least R140 million were seized from 12 stalls on Colon Street that were raided by law enforcers last Saturday.
The simultaneous raids were carried out following complaints that reached the central office of the Optical Media Board (OMB).
“We are based in Manila but whenever we receive complaints even from far provinces, we really take action,” said Cyrus Paul Valenzuela, head of OMB’s Legal Division.
Armed with a search warrant from Judge Elma Raffalo-Ligan of the Regional Trial Court in Pasig City, the raiding team was assisted by police from the Cebu City Police Office and Police Regional Office in Central Visayas.
The same stalls were raided last month during which tension ran high after the vendors fought back and refused to surrender their goods.
“We were not able to seize all the items before because of the resistance. We continued to receive reports that pirated CDs and DVDs are still openly sold here, that’s why we conducted another operation. But this time, we asked assistance from the police in case trouble breaks out again,” said Valenzuela.
Anuar Allam, a stall owner, was arrested during the operation.
Valenzuela said they forced open the stalls which were closed when the team arrived.
Allam arrived and introduced himself as one of the stall owners. When the team tried to arrest him, Allam resisted but was eventually overpowered.
“He will be charged with violation of the Republic Act 9239 or the Optical Media Act of 2003. We will also file direct assault charges against him because he fought back while being arrested,” Valenzuela said.
He said each stall had a secret room where pirated video materials were made.
Most of the vendors were from Mindanao, added Valenzuela.
The pirated items will be brought to Manila for proper disposition.