Gov’t steps up campaign vs fake cigarettes
Agents of the National Bureau of Investigation ( NBI) Cabanatuan District Office (CABDO) recently nabbed a vendor of fake cigarettes in Talavera, Nueva Ecija as the government stepped up its crackdown on contraband cigarettes.
Fortunato Gatmaitan of Peryas, Barangay La Torre, Talavera was arrested after he was caught in possession of fake Mighty and Marvels cigarettes.
NBI agents, armed with a search warrant issued by Cabanatuan City RTC Branch 24 Executive Judge Ana Marie Joson-Viterbo, went to a warehouse in Peryas, Barangay La Torre, Talavera Nueva Ecija purportedly owned by a Chinese businessman.
The search yielded 692 reams of counterfeit Mighty and Marvels cigarettes. A representative from Mighty Corp. confirmed that the seized items were fake products.
Basis of arrest was pursuant to Section 5, Rule 113 of the Revised Rules of the Court during implementation of a search warrant for possession of fake Mighty and Marvels cigarettes. The vendor was charged with violating Section 155 (trademark infringement) in relation to Section 170 of Republic Act 8293, otherwise known as the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines.
The NBI acted on the complaint filed by Malolos, Bulacan-based cigarette manufacturer Mighty Corp. of the rampant sale and distribution of fake Mighty products.
The incident was the latest in the government’s continuing crackdown on the manufacture and distribution of fake cigarettes, as well as the sale of smuggled tobacco products across the nation.
Aside from the Mighty and Marvels brands, authorities have also noted the proliferation of other smuggled and fake cigarette brands identified as Marlboro, Winston, Far Star, Fort, American Legend, Union, Navy, and Gudang Garam.
The smuggled brands are manufactured in China, Indonesia, Malaysia and Cambodia.
Authorities have already renewed their warning against the manufacture, sale and distribution of fake cigarettes and vowed to round up retailers, distributors and importers of smuggled and counterfeit cigarettes.