Manila destroys confiscated fake meds, beauty products

MANILA, Philippines — Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso and Vice Mayor Sheilah Lacuna-Pangan witnessed the destruction of fake products at the city hall compound on Monday, a few minutes after the flag ceremony, according to a statement issued by the Public Information Office.

The counterfeit products — which consisted of unregistered or fake medicines and beauty and personal care products of dubious origins — had been confiscated during a raid, which the mayor also led, of two warehouses in Binondo last November.

According to the statement, the lessors of the warehouses — identified as Jerry Ong and Johnson Sy — failed to submit a business permit for wholesalers and occupational permits for service personnel, as well as a license to operate issued by the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA).

“Our city welcomes businesses, but they should acquire the proper permits needed to operate,” Domagoso said. “Moreover, the products they are selling should not be counterfeit. The ones we confiscated included fake medicines and beauty products. Just imagine what harm that would do to the people who take or use them.”

The confiscated products were supposedly sold online via shopping platforms like Lazada and Shopee.

Domagoso once again reiterated the need for online shopping sites to conduct due diligence to ensure that they won’t be hosting any sellers of counterfeit goods or scammers.

“These online shopping sites have invested more effort in protecting consumers, especially now that more people opt to buy things online,” the mayor said. “They can’t just allow scam artists to flourish on their sites. Otherwise, they become nothing more but glorified online hubs for scam artists.

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