MANILA — Philippine authorities are expected to seize more than P40 billion worth of counterfeit goods this year, a record-high, as the government intensified operations especially during the holiday season, according to the National Committee on Intellectual Property Rights (NCIPR) on Tuesday.

From January to September 16, the NCIPR has seized more than P35 billion pesos worth of fake products, the bulk of which were intercepted by the Bureau of Customs (BOC).

That’s already more than the country’s total counterfeit haul for full year 2023, which was at nearly P27 billion.

Now with the expected surge of counterfeit goods in the country this holiday season, the NCIPR, which consists of agencies like the BOC, National Bureau of Investigation, and Philippine National Police, vow to be more diligent in monitoring the market and in doing inspections.

“Counterfeiters have turned to more sophisticated methods in this digital age, with online platforms becoming the primary battleground for IPR (intellectual property rights) violations… We will explore and adopt advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, data analytics and blockchain to improve our monitoring and detection capabilities,” said Paul Pacunayen, the Chief of the BOC Intellectual Property Rights Division.

According to the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL), 60 percent of seized fake goods are types of apparel like shoes, bags, clothes, and eyewear. Perfume and beauty products make up 36.1 percent of the pie, 4.6 percent are gadgets, 0.9 percent are cigarettes, while other goods are at 7.4 percent.

IPOPHL Director General Rowel Barba urged Filipinos not to patronize these products, especially this Christmas. He said these items not only threaten legitimate businesses but also pose safety and health risks to consumers.

“Nakikiusap kami na gawin niyo na lang pong panregalo yung local products natin, wag na po yung mga fake products sapagkat nawawalan po ng trabaho ang ating mga negosyo kung ipagpapatuloy natin yung pagbili ng mga fake products. Nawawalan po ng kita ang gobyerno na magagamit sa pangkalusugan, infrastructure,” said Barba.

“Sa tingin din po naman namin ay ayaw din niyong mabigyan ng regalo na fake, ‘di ba, na hindi assured yung quality?” he added. 

The Department of Justice is also encouraged more brand owners to come forward and pursue legal action against those behind intellectual property rights violations. 

“We are very diligent in monitoring the market and doing inspections however the enforcement aspect will always need the cooperation of the brand owners. As long as we do our work but the brand owners will desist on pursuing criminal and administrative actions, this is just a vicious cycle that we have to contend with,” said DOJ Undersecretary Jesse Andres.

Based on the records of the National Prosecution Service, the DOJ handled 679 intellectual property rights cases in 2023, 35 of which led to convictions while 186 resulted in information being filed in court.

FATF GREY LIST

The DOJ also expects the Philippines to be removed from the Financial Action Task Force’s grey list as early as this October because of the government’s work in addressing issues such as intellectual property violations linked to money laundering activities.

“We have been in the gray list for several years now, almost 5 years… One of the deliverables is intellectual property rights violations on money laundering. We are very confident that when the FATF gray list matter is taken up this October, it’s very possible that the Philippines will already exit the gray list,” said Andres.

Andres added that the government has also “delivered” on other concerns such as terrorism financing cases and cross-border measures against money laundering.

GREENHILLS SHOPPING CENTER

The IPOPHL said it also continues to work with the management of the Greenhills Shopping Center in San Juan City as well as with the local government unit to rid the mall of counterfeit and pirated items by 2027.

The mall is the only Philippine entry on the US piracy and counterfeit watch list.

“Gusto rin naman nila to promote yung Greenhills as a high end (mall). Hindi lang nila binibigla… from malaking area before, makikita niyo kapag bumisita kayo sa Greenhills lumiit na. And they were able to transition or convert those involved in the selling of counterfeit goods na magbenta ng local products,” said Barba.

He added that the NCIPR is now also looking to address the same issue in Baclaran, Cartimar and Binondo, which Barba said are on the European Union’s watchlist of counterfeit hotbeds.