Don't pirate Pacquiao bout, OMB chief asks traders

With just two days to go before Filipino boxing champ and Sarangani Rep. Emmanuel "Manny" Pacquiao's bout against Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez, authorities appealed to "traders" Friday not to make pirated copies of the fight. Optical Media Board chairman Ronnie Ricketts made such a personal appeal to local traders in Manila's Quiapo area following a surprise raid early Friday, radio dzBB's Carlo Mateo reported. The report quoted Ricketts as telling the traders that not making pirated copies of the bout will be their way of showing support for Pacquiao. But Ricketts also said he was heartened to see that there were no more discs being sold openly in the Quiapo area, the report added. Pacquiao is due to meet Marquez in the squared circle in Las Vegas Sunday morning (Manila time). The bout is their third encounter.

Earlier Friday, OMB operatives backed by heavily armed Manila police Special Weapons and Tactics members raided a building in the Quiapo area for a replicating machine. The raid netted the government operatives at least seven replicating machines and boxes of suspected pirated CDs and DVDs. On the other hand, the raid came four months after the city government declared an all-out war on pirated discs. Coast Guard readies free screening for bout Meanwhile, the Philippine Coast Guard prepared to screen Sunday's bout for free for its personnel, radio dzBB's Carlo Mateo reported. The Coast Guard is one of several government offices setting up facilities to screen the bout for free for its employees. The others include the Philippine National Police, Armed Forces of the Philippines, and the Malabon City government. — RSJ, GMA News