Manila Mayor Isko Moreno closes down two establishments that houses bulks of counterfeit products in Binondo, Manila on Wednesday.
This after authorities discovered the fake products were being sold through online shops such as Lazada and Shopee.
Moreno personally handed the closure orders to the two warehouse owners named Jerry Ong and Johnson Sy.
The Bureau of Permits had discovered that the warehouses doesn’t have any permits and while their consumers from different locations are said to be coming in and out of Manila to buy their counterfeit products.
“Here in Manila, you can do business, but you need a permit. No business without a permit. There is nothing wrong with doing business in Manila but without a permit,” the mayor said during the investigations on Ong and Sy.
“You can’t be both thugs here, you just came here. You cannot live here in Manila,” an irate Moreno said.
In addition, the two businessmen failed to submit a license to operate from the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA).
Products found inside the first warehouse include counterfeit shampoos, lotions, body washes, bath bombs, and other counterfeit high-end products under the brand Unilever, Procter and Gamble, Victoria’s Secret, Calvin Klein, and Bulgari.
Meanwhile, boxes of Johnson & Johnson baby lotion, Cetaphil, soap and other cosmetics were found in the second warehouse.
“I think Shopee and Lazada should do some due diligence. It is not always the money, about earning, it’s always about protecting your consumer,” said Mayor Isko.
Moreno had already instructed the Bureau of Permits Director Levi Facundo and Manila Police District Special Mayor’s Reaction Team (MPD-SMaRT) Chief Police Major Rosalino Ibay to coordinate with the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the companies involved for further investigation.
Pursuant to Section 199 of City Ordinance No. 8331, not less than P1,000 and not more than P5,000 or imprisonment of not less than one month or more than six months, or both, may face the two Chinese businessmen.