P63-M worth of counterfeit goods seized in Greenhills  

THE NATIONAL Committee on Intellectual Property Rights (NCIPR) has seized P63 million worth of counterfeit products at the Greenhills Shopping Center in San Juan City on April 4.   

In a statement on Wednesday, NCIPR member Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) said 755 pieces of fake Louis Vuitton products were confiscated during a raid led by the National Bureau of Investigation.   

“The activity is part of the NCIPR’s commitment to remove Greenhills from the United States Trade Representative’s (USTR) list of Notorious Markets for Counterfeiting and Piracy. The shopping center is the lone market in the country to be in the list,” IPOPHL said.   

IPOPHL Deputy Director General Teodoro C. Pascua said the government is taking action because Greenhills’ reputation as a “go-to for fake goods” harms the country’s standing.  

Meanwhile, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has confiscated nearly P6 million worth of uncertified products in the National Capital Region and the Visayas in central Philippines.   

In a separate statement on Wednesday, the DTI said its Fair-Trade Enforcement Bureau has sequestered 37,870 pieces of uncertified products after a series of random spot-checking activities within March across 324 local establishments in these areas.  

Of those checked, 175 establishments were given notices of violation for selling consumer products that do not have marks indicating compliance to the required certification process. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave