Manila destroys fake meds, beauty products

MANILA, Philippines — Manila Mayor Isko Moreno continues the city of Manila’s fight against counterfeit goods.

Moreno led the destruction of counterfeit products at the Manila City Hall grounds yesterday. Vice Mayor Honey Lacuna-Pangan was also present at the event, which was held a few minutes after the flag ceremony.

The counterfeit products — which ranged from unregistered or fake medicines to beauty and personal care products of dubious origins — were confiscated from two warehouses in Binondo. Moreno also led the raid conducted on the warehouses last November.

It can be recalled that the lessors of the two warehouses identified as Jerry Ong and Johnson Sy failed to submit a business permit for wholesaler and occupational permits for service personnel, as well as a license to operate issued by the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA).

“Our city welcomes businesses, but they should acquire the proper permits needed to operate. Moreover, the products they are selling should not be counterfeit,” Moreno said. “The ones we confiscated included fake medicines and beauty products. Just imagine what harm that would do to the people who take or use them.”

The confiscated products that were destroyed at the city hall grounds were supposedly sold online through shopping apps.

Moreno once again reiterated the need for online shopping sites to conduct due diligence to ensure that they won’t be hosting any sellers of counterfeit goods or scammers.

“These sites need to protect consumers, especially now that more people opt to buy things online,” the mayor said. “They can’t just allow scam artists to flourish on their sites. Otherwise, they become nothing more but glorified online hubs for scam artists.”