Local cops in drive vs pirated CDs, DVDs
Iloilo City -- City and provincial cops will be on the lead in the continued drive of the national Optical Media Board (OMB) against the proliferation of smuggled and pirated copies of VCDs and DVDs. With the campaign now in full force through the countrysides, the OMB thru PNP Optical Media Task Force Senior Supt. Mark Edison Belarma said their deputies will directly be the operatives under the Iloilo City Police Office (ICPO) and the Iloilo Provincial Police Office (IPPO).
The clarification was made by Belarma amidst unresolved concerns of business establishments and local movie dealers brought by the then 'NBI raid scare.'
In a report, The News Today gathered that OMB has since refocused its drive in the provinces with Iloilo as amongst its identified area of operation.
Senior Supt. Belarma, in a radio interview, said the OMB is now bent on pursuing the charges against erring businessmen and those who own the establishments particularly those in the malls and big department stores.
They do not want to tolerate the practice, he continued while adding that stiffer and higher penalties await the violators.
If the board was lenient before, Senior Supt. Belarma told Bombo Radyo, this time they are out to make serious arrests and file corresponding charges.
In the city, 'pirates' alley' in one mall displays over 5,000 copies of pirated movies mostly foreign films. Repeated raids failed thus far to deter the businessmen from going back though it would normally take about two days for full operation to resume after every raid.
An estimated 400 to 500 'smalltime' dealers are involved in the business with the distribution reportedly controlled by only five major players with Manila-based connections and suppliers.