A total ban on the sale of pirated discs in the entire city of Manila was pushed through last week by Mayor Alfredo S. Lim during a meeting with Optical Media Board Chairman Ronnie Ricketts.

Refusing to postpone the measure, Lim and Ricketts also agreed not to give any concession to the affected vendors, after they reportedly demanded “blood money” in exchange for stopping their illegal trade. Ricketts said that the peddlers have already raked in a lot of money and should no longer demand anything more.

According to Lim, the prohibition on the sale of pirated discs, “including lewd ones,” will cover the streets, sidewalks and even stalls located inside buildings. 


Some Peso10 million ($230,000) worth of pirated discs was seized from vendors in an anti-piracy raid in Manila’s Quiapo district.

Representatives of the US Embassy were present at the raid. The US had named Quiapo as a notorious market for video discs piracy last March. Unlike previous raids, the vendors did not put up a fight and surrendered their wares to members of the raiding team.

Several meetings were previously held with the vendors of pirated discs, during which they were given ample time to dispose of their wares and shift to legitimate sources of livelihood. Lim cited a recent report which identified Quiapo as one of the world’s ‘most notorious markets’ when it comes to piracy.

“There is a need to erase from the minds of the public that the illegal activity is being tolerated. Let us uphold the majesty of the law. We have been lenient so far. We have to do something is not we will be accused of sleeping on the job,” Lim stressed. (Source: Journal.com)

Story filed 04.07.11