ABOUT a hundred boxes of pirated digital video discs (DVDs) worth P23 million were seized on Sunday by personnel of Optical Media Board (OMB) from a store in downtown Bacolod City, reports from ABS-CBN Bacolod said.
The pirated DVDs, which were reportedly bought directly from China, were recovered inside a cellphone and computer supplies store.
The boxes containing the pirated discs, and several DVD burners were found at the fourth floor of the building owned by Gilsie Bacalso Tecson, who was not around during the raid.
The OMB agents also confiscated 43 boxes of blank DVDs being displayed and sold in several stores at the sidewalk.
OMB chairman Anselmo Adriano, in a television interview, said they received reports that the supplier in the city is distributing the illegal discs to Iloilo, Roxas, and Kalibo and other parts of Western Visayas.
The sale of pirated DVDs and CDs is a violation of Section 19 of Republic Act 9239 or the Optical Media Board Act of 2003. It is punishable with an imprisonment of three years to six years. (GYM)