Internet emerging market for drug counterfeiters - PCTC

MANILA, Philippines - The Internet is an emerging market for drug counterfeiters, the Philippine Center for Trans-national Crime (PCTC) has warned.

“It is an emerging trend although it is not so much a problem here... But it will surely hit the Philippines,” PCTC executive director Felizardo Serapio Jr. said on the sidelines of the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines forum Wednesday.

“We all know it will happen. If we don’t act soon, it might be too late. We have to work double time. We have to be two steps ahead of them,” Serapio said.

He said drug counterfeiting is a $13-billion global industry.

In his presentation, Serapio said reports reaching PCTC showed that China, India and Pakistan are “international sources” of counterfeit drugs.

The “hotspots” for the sale and distribution of fake drugs in the country are Manila, Cebu, Aurora, Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac, Zambales, Batangas, Cavite, Laguna, Rizal and Quezon.

The commonly counterfeited drugs are those for hypertension, anti-lipid, steroid preparations and antibiotics.

Serapio said all concerned government agencies and private sectors will have to work together to prevent the entry of counterfeit drugs.

“We have to unify and build our capacity together... And it is also important to educate our consumers about the danger of using fake medicine and how to spot them,” he said.