Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 24) — A lawmaker on Monday sounded the alarm on the rampant distribution and sale of counterfeit goods, especially that of popular brands, in the country.
“Most of us Filipinos are fond of patronizing imported products or popular brands. May ilan-ilan na gumagawa or nagbebenta ng pekeng produkto [There are some who make or sell counterfeit products]. It’s very rampant,” ACT-CIS Party-list Rep. Jeffrey Soriano said on CNN Philippines’ The Final Word.
Soriano said he has received reports of fake products being sold as legitimate to fool consumers into paying the full retail price of the genuine brands. He added that most of these goods are beauty products that are taken orally, or facial applications.
He also mentioned that even counterfeit air compressors are now being marketed to Filipinos by some foreign nationals.
“Ang masama, itong namamantala ay isang foreign national na hindi natin alam kung may permit to operate in our country,” Soriano said.
[Translation: The bad thing is that this exploiter is a foreign national who we don’t even know if he has a permit to operate in our country.]
Following the reports, the lawmaker emphasized the need to intensify existing measures, such as increasing the years of imprisonment and the amount of penalty to those found guilty of crimes related to producing and selling counterfeit products.
Soriano said he has already coordinated with the Department of Trade and Industry and the National Bureau of Investigation to look into the matter.
He added that he will be reaching out to agencies responsible for enforcing laws to protect consumers, such as the Bureau of Customs, the Bureau of Internal Revenue, and the Department of Finance, to take immediate and necessary measures to stop the fraudulent acts
