18.8-B fake goods seized in H1 exceed 2017 haul

The government has seized a total 18.8 billion worth of counterfeit items in the first half of 2018 which already breached the 18.2-billion haul in the entire of 2017.

The seizure of these fake goods was a result of the joint effort of the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL), in coordination with the inter-agency taskforce, the National Committee on Intellectual Property Rights (NCIPR).

In a report, Director General Josephine R. Santiago said first semester haul was 530 percent higher than the 11.4 billion in the same period in 2017.

“Surpassing the full-year, 2017 seizure is a matter of course given IPOPHL and NCIPR’s intensified campaign to curb the spread of fake goods since the beginning of the year. Any form of piracy is damaging not only to the local economy but also to the industries we cultivate, as well as the investors with valuable intellectual property, and the government which loses revenue with these fake goods,” said Santiago.

“Moreover, while economic losses are sustained with these kinds of goods, the victims who would stand to suffer the most from this illicit trade are the public, as these counterfeiters and pirates ultimately compromise health and safety, not to mention cost people their jobs.”

Most importantly, Santiago said, the report has established that counterfeiting is used by organized criminal syndicates to fund their operations.

“With this 18.8 billion seizure, we hope to make a dent to their sources of income and drive home the message to counterfeiters, dealers, and all those involved pirated-goods trade that we continue to have a zero-tolerance policy on piracy and counterfeiting,” she added.

According to the NCIPR data, among the NCIPR enforcement agencies, the Philippine National Police (PNP) confiscated the lion’s share of the haul at 72 %, or 16.3 billion during first half of 2018. The Bureau of Customs, which submitted their data this August, captured 24 % or 12 billion, while the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) confiscated 1266 million worth of goods. The Optical Media Board confiscated 1103 million.

Per type of good, cigarettes and alcohol again took the bulk of the seized amount, taking up 16.8 billion of the total, or 78 percent. Pharmaceutical and personal care products is a far second with 11.2 billion seized in the first half. Fake handbags and wallets comes third in terms of value, with NCIPR seizing 1450 million.

The value of fake goods confiscated by the government fluctuates every year and it depends on the class of goods and the market value of the original goods in the formal economy.

“With this substantial take, we are reasonably optimistic that our goal to surpass the record high of 2014 of 113 billion worth of fake and counterfeit products is within reach,” Director General Santiago added.