YOU’VE watched “The Battle” on television. Now own the pirated DVD.
Pirated compact discs of the Manny Pacquiao-Erik Morales boxing bout in Las Vegas last Sunday are now selling like hotcakes all over Metro Manila for as low as P30 a copy.
The pirated discs started appearing a day after the Jan. 22 match on the sidewalks of Quiapo, Manila, the unofficial capital of the bootleg video “industry.”
Now copies of the disc can be found in all major flea markets or tiangges, including those inside the various malls all over the metropolis.
“We have brisk sales. We just want to earn a little money, to share in the fortune of our idol Manny Pacquiao,” said Rowan Villarico, a vendor at Mu?oz market in Quezon City.
The discs actually contain edited versions of the fight that was broadcast on ABS-CBN network.
Actor Edu Manzano, chairman of the Optical Media Board that goes after video pirates, could not be contacted for comment on the proliferation of the Pacquiao-Morales discs.
It was also not clear who owns the rights to the video in the Philippines, because Viva Sports released the previous fights of Pacquiao. However, the Las Vegas fight last Sunday was produced by ABS-CBN and Solar Sports.
