THE National Committee on Intellectual Property Rights (NCIPR) has intensified its crackdown on counterfeit goods in the domestic market as seized fake products reached P40.99 billion in 2024.
The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) reported Thursday, Feb. 6, that the number of confiscated fake goods last year was a record-high in terms of value as it surpassed the amount in 2023 of P26.99 billion, surging by 52 percent.
It said the biggest haul last year came from the operations of the Bureau of Customs (BOC) amounting to P34.7 billion.
“Among the biggest operations of the BOC included its July operations in Binondo which hauled P11 billion worth of counterfeit luxury goods and its November raid in a Divisoria mall where the agency confiscated P7 billion worth of counterfeit luxury goods,” IPOPHL said.
The National Bureau of Investigation confiscated a total of P3.42 billion, while the Philippine National Police seized a total of P2.83 billion of fake goods.
On the other hand, the Food and Drug Administration seized P30.20 million counterfeit drugs and health-related products.
“Counterfeit products harm the economy as they undermine legitimate businesses and market trust, while also exposing consumers to unsafe products that went under the radar of regulatory standard checks,” IPOPHL Director General Brigitte da Costa-Villaluz said, lauding the proactive work and strategic raid operations of the NCIPR.
“The NCIPR will continue to safeguard our borders from being transit points, our warehouses from being hiding dens and our markets from being thriving hubs for counterfeiting,” IPOPHL Deputy Director General for Policy, Legal Affairs and External Relations Nathaniel Arevalo added. (PNA)
Caption
More than half a billion pesos worth of counterfeit Louis Vuitton products were seized by the National Bureau of Investigation operatives in several shops in Mandaue City, Cebu.
NBI PHOTO
