PIRATES have added Manny Pacquiao to their list of celebrity victims.
They have been cashing in on the Filipino boxing champion’s popularity following his recent knockout win over Mexican Erik “El Terible” Morales in Las Vegas.
Original copies of the Pacquiao-Morales rematch are being sold for P199 to P299 in Metro Manila video shops.
But counterfeit DVDs and VCDs of the bout are selling like the proverbial hotcakes at, among other outlets, the Barter Trade Center in Quiapo, Manila, which is seen by some intellectual property rights and consumer activists as the symbol of the government’s losing battle against piracy.
Pirated discs, with titles like “Morales 2 Pacquiao: The Battle” and “Pacman versus El Terrible,” can be had for only P20-25.
The discs have been in the market since Jan. 23, the day after the televised match.
Pacquiao CD top seller
Pirates have also flooded the market with counterfeit copies of Pacquiao’s debut CD, “Para sa ‘yo ang Laban na ‘to.”
Priced at only P20, the CD hit stalls at the Barter Trade Center on Jan. 26, two days before the scheduled release of the original.
Pacquiao’s CD has ruled the counterfeit record charts for two weeks now, along with recording industry A-listers like M.Y.M.P., Orange and Lemons, Bamboo, Cueshe, Rivermaya and Ogie Alcasid.
The original Pacquiao CD has 10 tracks. The pirated version carries 21 singles, including songs by former “Pinoy Big Brother” housemate Sam Milby, Christian Bautista and actor-singer Piolo Pascual.
