BOC-DTI team seize P0.5-B fake bags, wallets in raid

Customs and trade officials confiscated half a billion pesos worth of fake branded bags and wallets imported from China after raiding a warehouse in Binondo, Manila, Friday afternoon. The counterfeit items bearing labels of famous brands – such as Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Northface, Lacoste and Coach – were seized by authorities from a storeroom in Juan Luna Street, Manila. Bureau of Customs (BOC) and Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) had staked out the warehouse for a week before the raid. Informants had tipped them off about boxes and crates of counterfeit goods stored in the premises. The officials who conducted the raid are still determining who owns the warehouse and the “class A imitation" counterfeit goods. The counterfeit items were meant to be sold in nearby shopping malls in the areas of Binondo and Divisoria, just in time for the Christmas shopping season. As the fake goods were being seized, GMA News reporter JP Soriano interviewed BOC Intellectual Property Division Chief Zsae Carrie De Guzman who told him about the hazards of buying cheap but counterfeit goods. “Akala nila [mga mamimili] nakakamura sila, but really hindi sila makakamura dito," said De Guzman. “In reality, eventually makikita nila ang effect nito sa kanilang mga kalusugan." The fake bags sell for only P3000-P4000 when original items they imitate costs tens of thousands of pesos. “Sana huwag nila tangkilikin and huwag nilang pabayaan na ang Pilipinas maging tambakan ng mga pekeng goods," she added. Counterfeit goods do not only harm the businesses of original labels. Since these have to be smuggled into the country, the government loses millions of pesos in tax revenue that would have otherwise been collected. Customs Commissioner Rufino Biazon had said that counterfeit commodity has negative effect on the country’s reputation as it also discourages brand owners from investing in the country. This year alone, the BOC had seized P1.3 billion worth of counterfeit products like designer handbags, shoes, clothes, toys, compact discs (CDs), digital video discs (DVDs), and electronic goods, mostly coming from China and Korea. But the BOC has admitted the difficulty in guarding against the entry of counterfeit goods that still manage to get sneaked in the 17 major ports in the country. The counterfeit items will further undergo seizure proceedings before eventually being destroyed. —MRT/ELR, GMA News