MANILA, Philippines – Film piracy is now considered a national security threat that is providing funds to the enemies of the state and at the same time killing the movie industry in the country, Optical Media Board (OMB) chairman Eduardo “Edu” Manzano told the weekly Kapihan ng Bayan forum hosted by Mario Garcia over NBN 4 yesterday.
Manzano said the series of raids they conducted in various parts of the country yielded illegal drugs, firearms and bullets –a sure indication that organized armed groups are behind the illegal operation.
“Seized items included shabu, grenades and several hundreds of ammunitions,” he said.
Manzano also said the Philippines has become a major source of pirated movies sold in the US and other countries around the world.
He said the enemies of the state could be replicating their counterparts in Lebanon where the major source of pirated materials are under the protection of the Hezbollah group.
The OMB chairman, however, did not identify which armed groups are behind the piracy operations in the country.
The Intellectual Property Division of the National Bureau of Investigation has already intensified its campaign against piracy.
Ric Camaligan, president of the Motion Picture Anti-Piracy Council Inc., said the impact of piracy was felt by the movie industry with billions of pesos lost, resulting in the closure of at least 200 movie houses across the country.