In the Philippines, it’s just easy to get access to pirated DVDs and CDs of software and movies. You just have to know the places where these pirates are so you can get access to dirt cheap pirated software and movies. You just have to watch over your shoulders because the operatives of the Optical Media Board headed by the scary Chairman Edu Manzano might raid the place anytime.

Quiapo. Don’t get fooled by the religiosity of the place. In spite of the Basilica-looking church there, the place is a DVD pirates’ haven. I won’t tell you exactly where it is. But if you know Quiapo well enough, you’d know where to go. Stalls upon stalls of DVD vendors are there. Selling everything from pirated softwares, pirated porn flicks, pirated movies, pirated American TV series, and pirated everything. I tried taking a photo of that street but the vendors were glaring at me like I just said “Voldemort”!

According to ABSCBNNews though, the Quiapo Piracy trade is dying. I wonder if this is true. Btw, the pirates in Recto Avenue might no longer be there. Guess what? They transferred on the sidewalks of Pedro Gil just near the Robinsons’ Place Manila. Image courtesy of ABSCBNNews.

Greenhills. Greenhills is another haven for movie pirates! There used to be a mall section full of pirated DVDs and CDs. Not sure if the OMB has already raided the place. You would also get unsolicited offers from inconspicuous DVD pirates asking you “XXX ba boss?” “bili na kayo ng DVD sir. Bago to!” Haven’t been there in a while. So there, I might be wrong.

Cinema Square somewhere. There’s this Cinema square a little farther away from Greenbelt. Hahah. See, I’m not mentioning it directly. I think I’m afraid of the OMB and Chairman Edu. He just might ask me Game Ka na Ba?! There are also stalls and shops there offering dirt cheap DVDs.

Metro Manila sidewalks. Actually, Quiapo, Greenhills and the Cinema square are just some of the big places to go to if you’re looking to buy tons of software or movie DVDs. But really, in Metro Manila, you just need to go to the nearby palengke, you’d find lots and lots of stalls offering pirated software and movies. Whether in Novaliches QC, in Muntinlupa, or in Manila, these pirates are on the loose.

Online Piracy! If you’re afraid you just might encounter a raid in one of these places, then the best place to go doing some Captain Jack Sparrow pirate feats is the net! Peer-to-peer file sharing with software like Limewire (beware of the virus though), not-so-legal downloads courtesy of torrents and irc. You’re safe in the confines of your home. No OMB is gonna snoop around you. You don’t have to endure the traffic of Manila and the ewww smell of Manila!

Be careful though, the Counter-Pirates might find some ways to thwart the internet pirates soon enough. In Japan and in the United States, pirates are punished severely!

But then, I still believe that piracy fulfills a role in the distribution of movies and even software in the Philippines. After all, aren’t we moving to an Open Source world?