JTI Philippines called for a more sustained response against rampant violations of the intellectual property rights of legitimate businesses as it lauded the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines for its recent win in prosecuting IP crimes.
JTI Philippines general manager John Freda, in lauding IPOPHL, said: “At JTI, we are very pleased to see such IP adjudication in action and coordination amongst the relevant parties, notably IPOPHIL.”
“We all need to work together to permanently close the door on opportunities for criminal networks to sell their unregulated products, which undermine legitimate businesses and lead to lost tax revenue since cigarette smuggling deprives government of between P30 billion to P60 billion pesos annually in the Philippines,” said Freda.
The latest case filed and prosecuted by IPOPHL was resolved after years of proceedings and culminated in the destruction of over P20 million of counterfeit Winston cigarettes in a waste management facility in Porac, Pampanga.
Freda said the collaboration of government agencies as shown in the latest case should be further strengthened considering that illegal trade serves to not only rob state coffers but often finances other criminal activities. “Moreover, illegal trade is a complex problem, and not the victimless crime it is perceived to be. Proceeds from illegal tobacco sales often finance much larger criminal activities such as corruption, the smuggling of drugs and weapons, human trafficking and terrorism,” he said.
