Solon seeks probe on Pasay concert deaths

A youth lawmaker on Monday asked Congress to investigate the deaths of at least five individuals who were found unconscious during a concert in Pasay City Sunday in hopes of crafting legislation concerning the use of drugs in rave parties and similar events.

In House Resolution No. 2704, Kabataan party-list Rep. Terry Ridon asked the House of Representatives' Committees on Dangerous Drugs and Youth and Sports to conduct a joint investigation on the deaths which occurred during the Closeup Forever Summer Concert held at the SM Mall of Asia concert grounds.

The police identified the casualties as Ariel Leal, Lance Garcia, Ken Migawa, Bianca Fontejon, and Eric Miller, an American. The victims, who were apparently unrelated to one another, were found unconscious in different parts of the concert grounds.

The five were among an estimated 14,000 attending the "Closeup Forever Summer" open-air concert, headlined by Belgian DJ duo Dimitri Vegas and Like Mike late Saturday, investigating officer Giovanni Arcinue told Agence France-Presse.

In seeking an investigation into the incident, Ridon cited reports stating that the drinks distributed at the event were laced with “Green Amore,” a lethal mix of illegal drugs ecstasy and shabu.

“There are questions that investigators need to answer: If dangerous drugs were indeed available in the party venue, how were they able to slip in such substances? Are the concessionaires inside the venue involved? Clearly, the ‘stringent security measures’ or ‘precautions’ did not deter the proliferation of said dangerous substances. And surely what had transpired in the concert is not an isolated case,” he said at a press conference.

In a press conference at Camp Crame, Philippine National Police spokesman Chief Superintendent Wilben Mayor said they still have yet to determine the cause of death of the victims.

Mayor said that they will base their findings on the toxicology report based on samples taken from the victims.

The Pasay City police said that two of the victims died due to massive heart attack.

In their official statement following the incident, Closeup and the organizers regret what had transpired despite the “very stringent measures and precautions” they have put in place “to ensure the safety and security of all attendees.”

Closeup and SM Supermalls said in separate statements that they are already cooperating with investigators.

Ridon, meanwhile, said it is high time for Congress to pass a measure dealing with the use of drugs in rave parties and concerts. He said that in the United States, there is a federal law that explicitly tackles the proliferation of illegal substances in such events.

First introduced by then Sen. Joseph Biden as the “Reducing American’s Vulnerability to Ecstasy” (RAVE) Act, it was renamed as the “Illicit Drug Anti-Proliferation Act,” and was passed by the US Congress in 2003.

The legislation expanded federal laws to prosecute business owners if they “maintain drug-involved premises.”

Under the US Illicit Drug Anti-Proliferation Act, concert organizers may be prosecuted just because they provide harm reduction measures in their events, which can be construed as a sign of the presence of drugs.

With party drugs common in rave events, Ridon said it is important that measures to reduce harm be put in place since such substances have been scientifically proven to increase core body temperature to extreme highs, thus overheating and dehydrating users who are usually stuck in hot crowded areas, leading to fatalities.

Among the measures which the lawmaker said should be observed include the provision of drinking water, drug education, and ample breathing spaces.

“In crafting legislation against drug proliferation, legislators must strike a delicate balance between drug prevention and harm reduction,” Ridon said. —ALG, GMA News