1M pirated discs destroyed at NAIA

Some one million pirated DVDs, VCDs, and PlayStation discs earlier confiscated by the Bureau of Customs (BOC) district office at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport were destroyed yesterday during the agency’s 43rd founding anniversary celebration held at the BOC-NAIA compound in Parañaque City.

The illegal copies were confiscated by the BOC-NAIA eight months ago following a memorandum of agreement (MOA) signed by the BOC and the Video Regulatory Board (VRB).

VRB Chairman Ramon "Bong" Revilla Jr. witnessed the destruction of the discs.

Revilla, who himself appears in movies and on TV, said piracy has been slowly killing the entertainment industry. He lamented that there was a time the industry comes up with almost 300 movies a year. "Now, we would be lucky to release 50 movies a year."

He said the VRB owes a lot to the BOC for its support to the entertainment industry in the campaign against piracy.

Revilla said he has put at risk his own life just to save the movie industry. "I have so many death threats... despite that, I continue my pursuit against piracy."

He said the government’s war on piracy is now gaining headway.

He thanked the Custom’s unrelenting effort to prevent illegal discs from penetrating the local market.

"We estimate that the volume of these contraband items account for over 60 percent of the supply in the market. Over 90 percent of pirated DVDs are imported and manufactured overseas," Revilla said.

He said that also because of the work of the local police, video piracy has gone down by 70 percent.

He said the VRB has seized over 15 million pirated discs and 13 replicating machines, four of which were seized by Customs.

These items have an estimated street value of almost P5 billion, he said. – Sandy Araneta