BOC seizes P1.5-B fake designer watches

MANILA, Philippines - Agents from the Bureau of Customs (BOC) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) seized yesterday P1.5 billion worth of counterfeit wristwatches reportedly assembled at a warehouse in Tondo, Manila.

NBI-Intellectual Property Rights Division chief Alexander Bautista said the NBI, the BOC and the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHIL), have been monitoring the warehouse for about a month.

“The spare parts arrive from China and they have created an assembly line-type of operation where they assemble the wristwatches at the warehouse and distribute the finished products nationwide,” he said.

The raid on the four-story warehouse on Limay street is just the start of a series of operations the government is undertaking against intellectual property rights violators, Bautista said.

He said 150,000 counterfeit designer watches were found in the warehouse, reportedly owned by Jones Hernandez Sy, also known as Herbert Sy, Robert Sy and John Cruz Ang; and his wife, Lily Desierto Sy.

The Sys are allegedly considered among the “primary players” in the importation and supply of bogus wristwatches, Bautista said.

“We found delivery records showing that this warehouse served as a distribution hub for Manila, stretching as far as Cebu, Davao, Zamboanga and Agusan,” he said.