Palace to take action on Manila Mango controversy

Malacañang is taking moves to assert the Philippines’ rights over the name "Manila Mango" which is being used by Mexico to label their mangoes being exported to the US.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of Agriculture (DA), and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) would be taking appropriate steps to defend the local mango from being sidelined in the export market.

"We have good relations with Mexico so I think this would be resolved amicably," Ermita said. "I’m sure that the concerned US agencies are aware of this kind of inaccurate labelling."

He said the move of Mexican mango producers and experts to label their fruits as "Manila Mango" is in recognition of the superior quality of the sweeter and more succulent Philippine mangoes.

The Mexican-grown "Manila Mango" are reportedly dominating the US market and are competing with the country’s mangoes, labeled "Philippine Super Mango."

"It’s about time we do something about this," Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said. "Somehow their (Mexican) mangoes are being passed off as Philippine mangoes."

Bunye said the DTI, DA, and DFA have already taken cognizance of the matter and would soon undertake coordinated action before Mexico and the US to block the move of the Mexican government to formally own the patent name "Manila Mango."

Administration Sen. Ramon Magsaysay, chairman of the Senate committee on agriculture, said last week the Mexican label is misleading. He said "for a country which boasts of mango as its national fruit, it is ironic that the Philippine mango industry is not getting the exposure it deserves."

"While Mexico acknowledges the fact that the seedlings of its Manila mangoes were actually transported from the Philippines during the Manila-Acapulco galleon trade, it must accord the Philippines due courtesy by awarding to us by the default the rightful use of the label," Magsaysay said.

"Technically, we are competing with our own variety and quality mangoes," he said.

Magsaysay said the country was able to penetrate the fresh mango markets of Japan and Hong Kong and recently the US, which allowed exports of Philippine mangoes only in 2002.

The country’s fruit export carry the label "Philippine Super Mango" since the Philippines could no longer use the name "Manila Mango," he said.

Magsaysay said the government should fight for the right to use the name "Manila Mango" and aggressively campaign for the superiority and competitiveness of its own variety.

With proper marketing, he said, Philippine mangoes are a huge dolar earner for the country.

The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) has urged local mango growers to patent the name "Manila Mango" to prevent other countries from taking advantage of its popularity.

IPO director general Adrian Cristobal Jr. and the Mango Product Exporters Confederation conducted a dialogue last week to find ways on how to provide the growers with the necessary intellectual property protection.

Cristobal said that he recently ordered a search for trademark applications for the name "Manila Mango" in intellectual property offices worldwide.

An initial search of the US Patent and Trademark Office showed an application for trademark registration for "Manila Mango" filed in 1994 and abandoned the following year, he said.

Cristobal said trademark searches were also made in the intellectual property offices of Canada, Australia, Mexico and Spain to ensure that no other entity had yet staked its claim on the name that rightfully belonged to the Philippine export product.

"What we are opposing is the use of geographical names as brands or trademarks," Cristobal said. "The Manila name rightfully belongs to no other country but the Philippines."