P14-M worth of pirated discs seized in Bacolod raids

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines—About 94,800 pirated video discs with an estimated market value of P14.22 million were confiscated on Wednesday during several raids conducted in three shopping malls in this city.

A team composed of personnel from the Optical Media Board, the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group in Negros Occidental and the Bacolod City Police Office conducted simultaneous raids at the 888 Chinatown Square mall at Gatuslao Street, Gaisano City and the Plazamart mall at Araneta Street from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday.

Agent Manuel Mangubat, chief of the OMB Investigation and Operations Division, said their office received a letter from CIDG-Negros head Chief Inspector Cesar Paday-os regarding the rampant selling of pirated compact discs and video compact discs in Bacolod City.

According to Mangubat, OMB chairman Ronnie Rickets ordered them to conduct an operation in Bacolod City in coordination with the BCPO and CIDG.

He explained that the sale of pirated VCDs and CDs was a blatant violation of Section 19 of Republic Act 9239 or the Optical Media Board Act of 2003 and punishable with imprisonment three years to six years and a fine ranging from P500,000 to P1.5 million.

An Executive Order signed by former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo also stated that mall owners have liabilities if their tenants were selling pirated VCDs, DVDs and fake signature goods like T-shirts, Mangubat said.

The confiscated items would be stored temporarily at the office of CIDG-Negros at the Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office and would be destroyed within 15 days, he added.

Mangubat admitted that piracy remained rampant in other provinces in the country, but the OMB could not monitor these since it has no regional offices.

A vendor of pirated VCDs and DVDs, who requested anonymity, said that it was better selling pirated items than being a thief.

Paday-os, however, emphasized that those engaged in piracy were stealing the intellectual property rights of the movie and music producers.

Paday-os also said that buyers, manufacturers and sellers of pirated VCDs and DVDs have equal criminal liabilities although the penalties of the buyers were less.

Aside from the violation of the OMB law, the owners and sellers of the pornographic VCDs and the DVDs might face charges for violation of Article 201 of the Revised Penal Code of the Philippines or the immoral doctrines, obscene publications and exhibitions, and indecent shows act, Paday-os said.