Philippine porn industry worth $1B ranked eighth in the world

According to Noel Barcelona in a May 2009 American Chronicle article, the Philippines tied Canada in eighth place in terms of profits generated by the pornography industry in 2006. Presumably that data came from here.

Pornography is illegal in the Philippines. But that does not seem to deter an undeground industry from raking in megabucks to the tune of $1 billion dollars annually in net profit. That's money that most likely goes to foreign producers, with Philippine operations found to be serving more as subcontractors to these enterprising multinational "investors". And because it is all underground, not a single cent of it goes into public coffers.

According to Barcelona...

The bootlegged DVDs, HD-CDs and VCDs are mainly on sale in Quiapo and Divisoria — both in Manila— and Greenhills, San Juan. Copies are then distributed in stalls all over Metro Manila and nearby provinces.

Filmmakers for online porn found "havens" in the cities of Angeles (in Pampanga), Olongapo (in Zambales), Manila, Pasay, Makati, and Quezon City, where they hire prostituted women and men to star in sex films.

... and that...

Almost every month, the [Optical Media Board (OMB)] confiscates hundreds of thousands of counterfeit VCDs and DVDs. From January to September 2008, the OMB has confiscated 4,807,012 CDs costing P1.4 billion ($29,400,000 based on the prevailing peso-dollar exchange rate in Sept. 17, 2008).

There you go. One billion dollars in net profits and not a single cent of that is taxed.

Another legalisation debate to consider.