Lim’s next target: ‘pirates’ in Quiapo area

Will he succeed where others have failed?

Manila’s “Dirty Harry” has given the city’s “pirates” until the end of the month to pack up and leave.

In a second dialogue with Muslim vendors from Quiapo on Thursday, Mayor Alfredo Lim told them that they had less than a month to stop the sale of pirated DVDs, CDs and other counterfeit products.

“Effective July 1, we will put a complete stop to the vending of these wares. We are giving you sufficient time to dispose of these discs that were sold or consigned to you but we have to erase from the minds of the public that this activity is being tolerated,” he said.

On May 24, Lim held his first dialogue with vendors in the Quiapo district following a report from the Washington-based Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR), which named the area as among the world’s 21 most “notorious markets” for pirated and counterfeit items.

In a report posted on the website of the US Embassy in Manila, the USTR said Quiapo was “one example of several locations and neighborhoods [in the Philippines], especially in Metro Manila, known to deal in counterfeit and pirated goods such as clothing, shoes, watches and handbags.”

In the hope that religious leaders would be able to influence their community, Lim also invited the “ulamas” after he learned that most of the vendors of pirated goods in Quiapo were Muslims.

“It is time to shift to legitimate or legal businesses. We will give you until the end of the month to dispose of your remaining wares so you won’t be caught flatfooted. We have been considerate to you, it’s time for you to be considerate to us,” Lim said.