The Philippines will destroy ₱10 Billion counterfeited Smuggled Fake goods

Goodbye: Smuggled Fake Goods

The Philippines aims to destroy at least ₱ 10 billion worth of counterfeit goods this year as the country seeks to be removed from a US blacklist of nations tolerating intellectual piracy.

Thursday's crushing of ₱350 million worth of fake designer goods at Camp Crame during the World Anti-Counterfeiting Day was just a "tip of the iceberg," said Ricardo Blancaflor, director of the Intellectual Property Office (PIO).

"This is the only the tip of the iceberg. This is just a small portion of the confiscated goods that we got from the first six months of 2001 which is now P1.4 billion," Blancaflor said.

Bureau of Customs Lito Alvarez said agents have seized ₱50 million pesos worth of assorted counterfeit footwear and audio equipment on Wednesday.

"That is to rid the country of stigma of being referred to as the dumping ground of fake consumer products," said Alvarez as he challenged the IPO to make the ceremonial destruction of intellectual rights monthly instead of yearly.

"Let us not waiver in our belief that together we can win the war against intellectual property rights violators," Alvarez added.

Interior and Local Government Undersecretary Rico Puno said more investors will come in if piracy is curbed in the country.

Optical Media Board chairman Ronald Ricketts urged the Filipinos to protect, safeguard and promote the intellectual property rights of artists and manufacturers.

"We support in this anti-counterfeiting day. Let's buy original," said the former action star.

The Philippines remains on this year's US Trade Representative's lower-level Watch List of countries deemed not to be doing enough to protect intellectual property rights.

But the report, released in May, cited progress made by the Philippines and other trading partners in enacting significant legislation protecting intellectual property

 

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The Philippines abolished joint Oil and Gas exploration in the Reed Bank of West Philippines' Sea

The Philippines on Friday ruled out on Friday any more joint exploration with other claimant countries in the Reed Bank in the South China Sea, an area believed to have huge oil and gas deposits.

"The Reed Bank is not part of the Spratlys," Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario told reporters, referring to a disputed group of islands in the South China Sea.

"What is ours is ours," del Rosario said, adding that the Reed Bank, about 80 nautical miles west of southwestern Palawan province, was within the country's 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone.

The Spratlys, also considered a rich fishing ground, are claimed entirely by China, Taiwan, and Vietnam and in part by Malaysia, Brunei, and the Philippines.

Tension has risen in the area in recent weeks. Many Southeast Asian countries see an uptick in China's maritime activities as a sign Beijing is becoming increasingly assertive in pressing its claims.

Del Rosario is expected to discuss Manila's concerns during a trip to Beijing next week. He said China had intruded into Philippine territory seven to nine times since February.

The Philippines has been pushing for the peaceful settlement of overlapping claims in the South China Sea through a multilateral approach that won the support of the United States, which offered substantial military aid to enhance Manila's external defense capability.

Manila will get a reconditioned warship from Washington next month and plans to lease newer patrol vessels.

Del Rosario does not believe the tension in the disputed waters will lead to a war, saying claimant-states have diplomatic tools to avert a conflict.

Still, he said the launch of China's first aircraft carrier, which is expected soon, would bring "a new dimension" to the dispute. (Reporting by Manuel Mogato; Editing by Rosemarie Francisco and Daniel Magnowski)

 

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