Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 26) — Government agents confiscated counterfeit products worth ₱21.3 billion in the first seven months of 2023, with the customs chief urging e-commerce players to tighten measures against fake goods.
In a statement on Wednesday, Customs Commissioner Bienvenido Rubio said 219 operations conducted between Jan. 1 and July 14 led to the seizure of a staggering volume of counterfeit items.
Just this month alone, the bureau reported that ₱240 million worth of counterfeit items, including knockoffs of luxury fashion brands Balenciaga and Louis Vuitton, were confiscated.
“Customs has been actively combating the import and export of fake products by cracking down on intellectual property rights violators,” Rubio said during the Asia Security Conference Exhibition in Singapore.
However, Rubio said the customs bureau is facing two major challenges, including inefficient trade facilitation through brand certification or verification by brand owners, and counterfeiters taking advantage of the growing influence of the e-commerce sector
“[I] urge e-commerce platforms to tighten their policies and enhance monitoring of retailers to prevent the sale of prohibited products on their platforms,” he said.
Rubio said this was necessary to keep the Philippines from the EU’s intellectual property watchlist.
