Pacquiao-Rios: Pirated DVDs hit streets instantly

CEBU, Philippines - Hours after the lopsided victory of Manny Pacquiao against Brandon Rios in the welterweight championship bout at the Cotai Arena in Macau last Sunday, pirated DVD copies of the blockbuster fight were already selling like hotcake at the sidewalks.

The Pacquiao-Rios fight was sold at P20 to P35 per copy. “Dili man sa makabarato ta, nakakita nako sa dula pero mutan-aw gihapon ko lahi ra man gud basta dula ni Pacquiao,” said Jojo Lamoste, 40, who bought a copy of the DVD at the sidewalk along Colon Street.

One of the street vendors told The Freeman that he already sold at least 30 copies of the DVD as of yesterday.

“Daghan kaayo ang mupalit basta away ni Pacquiao, mao sab nga amo pirmi ipasalida ron,” a sidewalk vendor said.

One boxing fan, however, was not lucky enough to get a good copy of the DVD. Joe Limalima, 79, went to return a copy he bought and exchanged it with another one because the quality was not good. Limalima complained that a portion of the video was defective.

“Akong ibalik ron ni’ng ako gipalit kay gabalik-balik ang introduction,” he said.

According to Limalima, he said he saw the fight but wanted to watch it again.

“Nakatan-aw ko sa away pero wala ko kaklaro kay sa provincial ko nitan-aw mao nga nipalit ko aning DVD,” he added.

Although illegal, selling of DVDs along the sidewalk has become very rampant because it is being tolerated by the local authorities. — Aron Apostol Rempohito, USJR Intern/FPL (FREEMAN)