Duterte wants outdoor events regulated after Pasay concert deaths

Incoming president Rodrigo Duterte is planning to impose stricter measures on outdoor events after five people died in an overnight concert in Pasay City over the weekend.

"I'm sad that it had to end that way," Duterte said, adding that based on what he heard on TV reports, two of the victims died of heart attack and "there is nothing definitive... that would indicate that it was otherwise or there is a foul play."

However, Duterte said use of illegal drugs is common in outdoor concerts.

"But usually iyong ganoon, iyang mga music, mga rock-rock concert, diyan talaga lalabas ang mga droga. They pass it around [na] parang candies," said the outgoing mayor of Davao City whose presidential campaign centered on an anti-crime advocacy, with special emphasis on drug syndicates.

Because of the incident in Pasay City, Duterte is now considering to tighten the security in concerts and similar events.

“We cannot prohibit people to assemble in a certain place, crowd together. But we can always regulate in that sense that frisking is not allowed before they enter in that area. That is too fascistic. Magkalat na lang tayo. We scatter also government security to smell around and to smell immediately pagka-ganoon,” he said.

Duterte said that since he is not yet the president, he leaves it to the Pasay City government and the police to investigate if drugs really caused the deaths of the five victims. He also suggested for the police, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to work together.

One of the attendees of the “Closeup Forever Summer” event over the weekend said that there were drug sellers roaming freely inside the venue. The organizers’ perimeter fence supplier supplier also noticed concertgoers using inhalers during the event. —Trisha Macas/KBK, GMA News