The Philippine National Police (PNP) on Monday assured a local food and
drink company it would enforce the arrest warrants issued against officials of
the Thailand-based manufacturer of Red Bull Energy Drink and its local
distributor for alleged violation of the intellectual property law.
Chief Supt. Generoso Cerbo Jr.,
PNP spokesperson, said all police units nationwide were mandated by law to
immediately serve the arrest warrants on the respondents in the criminal case
filed by Energy Food and Drinks Inc. (EFDI).
"As a law enforcement
agency, we have no choice but to implement the arrest warrants as soon as we
receive them. That's part of our duty," said Cerbo, of the resolutions
issued separately by a regional trial court and a municipal trial court in Legazpi
City against officials of T.C. Pharmaceutical Industries Co. Ltd. (TCP), the
manufacturer of Red Bull Supreme Energy Drink and its local distributor,
Maryland Distributors Inc. (MDI).
The courts issued the arrest
warrants after the Department of Justice (DOJ) recommended the indictment of
the TCP and MDI officers for violation of Republic Act No. 8293, or the 1997
Intellectual Property Code, and RA 3720, otherwise known as the Food, Drug and
Cosmetic Act of 1963.
The DOJ said the respondents
"acted in unison" in violating the intellectual property rights of
EFDI as the exclusive distributor of Red Bull Supreme Energy Drink in the
Philippines.
Ordered arrested were TCP's
Supreeya Yoovidhya, Pavana Langthara, Visuit Chiemkitchavarote, Suthirat Yoovidhya
and Nucharee Yoovidhya, as well as MDI's Gina Tolentino, Ramoncito Abad, Gino
Baltao, Nelson Escobar and Benjamin Ros.
How it all began
The regional trial court set
P10,000 (S$293) bail for the release of each of the accused while the municipal
trial court imposed P6,000 bail for each.
The five MDI officers, who are in
the Philippines, immediately posted bail last week.
The arrest warrants stemmed from
a complaint filed by former Red Bull distributor EFDI, owned by the Chua
family, which claimed it had a certificate of product registration for Red Bull
from the Bureau of Food and Drugs until March 31, 2013.
TCPI, however, ended its
partnership with EFDI in 2009 and signed a contract with MDI as the exclusive
distributor of Red Bull energy drink products in the Philippines.
EFDI sued the officials of TCP
and MDI after it found out that Red Bull products being sold in the Philippines
had "MDI" labels superimposed on the portion of the label that
identified EFDI as the product's exclusive local distributor.
The complaint filed by EFDI
against TCPI in Legazpi City was initially dismissed by the city prosecutor of
Legazpi City, but Justice Undersecretary Jose Vicente Salazar on June 21
reversed the city prosecutor's decision.
In a resolution, Salazar ruled
that a food product "shall be deemed misbranded if its labeling is false
or misleading in any particular manner."
"Since complainant EFDI was
the exclusive distributor, its name must be indicated in the label of Red Bull
products. In the instant case, however, the bottles of Red Bull bore tampered
stickers/labels," Salazar said.
Responding to the arrest warrant,
TCPI said it could not understand why local courts in the Philippines would
issue an arrest warrant "based on a groundless criminal allegation that a
former distributor lodged against us."
TCPI added: "How can we be
remotely said to be in violation of the intellectual property law, when we are
in truth and in fact the owners of the intellectual property right, which in
this case is the Red Bull brand?"
TCPI terminated its distribution
agreement with EFDI on Oct. 31, 2008. Records indicated that EFDI had ceased
business operations on Dec. 31, 2009, as shown by its manifestation filed
before the court.
Marlon Ramos
Philippine Daily Inquirer/Asia
News Network
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