The work of the National Committee on Intellectual Property Rights (NCIPR) to combat counterfeiting and piracy has boosted efforts of the National Anti-Money Laundering Council to delist the Philippines from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) gray list, a success which may be finally achieved in 2025.
“We are very confident that when the FATF gray list is taken up this October, it is very possible that the Philippines will already exit the gray list because of our performance in various areas including intellectual property (IP) protection,” said Department of Justice Undersecretary Jesse Hermogenes T. Andres at the 2024 NCIPR High-Level Meeting held on September 24.
Deputy Director General Nathaniel S. Arevalo echoed the positive outlook while noting that counterfeiting and piracy have been linked to financing activities of organized crime groups.
“Trade in illegal goods is a transnational crime often run by complex criminal networks. Failing to deter illicit goods such as IP infringing goods from the market further emboldens these criminal groups to expand their operations and harm more people and brands,” Arevalo said.
According to the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation, organized crime represents as much as 2.5% or nearly $500 billion of world trade.
Arevalo said NCIPR’s record-high seizure this year “signifies the relentless efforts of its 15 members to disrupt illicit trade in the country and protect consumers and IP rights holders.”
In the first nine months of the year, the NCIPR seized counterfeits goods with a staggering P35.24 billion in value, a record-high that surpassed last year’s P26.89 billion
“IPOPHL is committed to strengthen efforts at the NCIPR, intensify our cooperation internally and with external members and improve the country’s reputation in the FATF and in the global context as an enabler of creativity, innovation and legitimate businesses,” Arevalo said.
The gray list is a list of countries which are actively working with the FATF to improve the effectivenes in combating and preventing anti-money laundering and terrorist financing. As of October 2023, there are 23 countries in the list, including the Philippines
The DOJ spearheads the Financial Intelligence, Law Enforcement and Prosecution Sub-Committee (FILEPSC) while IPOPHL sits as member. The FILEPSC is a sub-committee of the National Anti-Money Laundering/Countering the Financing of Terrorism Coordinating Committee, the body that oversees the implementation of the National Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Financing of Terrorism Strategy (NACS) approved in 2018
