NBI: 2 drugs found in victim’s body

MANILA, Philippines - The National Bureau of Investigation’s forensic investigation service confirmed that two synthetic substances were found in the body of one of a five people who died after the 10-hour concert on May 21, an NBI official said yesterday.

Dr. Romel Papa, the division’s chief of staff, told reporters yesterday two synthetic substances called MDMA-methylene homolog and methylene dioxycathinone were found in the body of the victim, whom he refused to name.

Papa said the substances were found in the blood, liver, brain and kidney samples and the contents of the victim’s stomach.

“(MDMA-methylene homolog) is used solely for research and laboratory purposes, and has never been made for consumption by both humans and animals,” Papa said in a previous press briefing.

He described MDMA-methylene homolog as crystalline substance that can be formed into tablets or diluted in liquids to be taken intravenously.

He added that the substance is used either to identify markers of chemical agents present in different kinds of ecstasy or as an extender to produce “cheaper” variants of the party drug, which he stressed is “according to literature.”

While the chemical is accessible to laboratories, Papa said “there are clandestine laboratories that can produce these cheaper kinds of ecstasy using this chemical.”

Also called “bath salts” since they are distributed in bath salt containers, cathinones are mind-altering substances that are marketed as cheap substitutes for stimulants such as methamphetamine and cocaine.

Papa stressed that anyone who ingests cathinone could become “so psychotic and so violent.”

Both MDMA-methylene homolog and cathinone, Papa said, are classified as “psychoactive,” “mind-altering” and “hallucinogenic” drugs.

“More or less what they would experience would be an increased heart rate, increased blood pressure, but also the mood-altering feelings, feeling good,” Papa said yesterday.

He said muscle spasms, dehydration, and food and electrolyte imbalance could set in within an hour after taking the drugs, depending on the person’s tolerance to them.

Papa could not confirm if the victim died from either an underdose or overdose of the two drugs.

“In clandestine laboratories, no one can quantify the amount of substances present in one tablet, so we cannot say if it is underdose or overdose,” he said.

Sources previously told The STAR one of the five people who died in the Closeup Forever Summer concert was found with synthetic substances, while another was found with plain ecstasy.

The NBI previously found MDMA-methylene homolog in the 10 pink tablets of a variant of ecstasy called “peace rock,” which were seized from event promoter Joshua Habalo after a sting at a rave party he organized in a bar in Pasay City on May 28.

The bureau also found cathinone in the three green capsules believed to be “green amore” seized from Habalo.

3 House panels to probe incident

Meanwhile, three committees in the House of Representatives will conduct an inquiry on Monday into the drug-induced deaths of five people during the concert last month, lawmakers said yesterday.

The House committees on dangerous drugs; youth and sports development; and Metro Manila development will conduct a joint hearing into the tragedy where five young people died for allegedly taking illegal drugs, Quezon City Rep. Winston Castelo said.

“We may not pin down the culprits that caused the death of the five youngsters as this is within the purview of the police but what is more important is for us to be able to inform the public on the lethal effects of these drugs and come up with guidelines on the conduct of this activity to stave off the recurrence of this unfortunate incident,” Castelo, chairman of the Metro Manila development committee, said.

He said the panels will help pinpoint responsibility and come up with proposed policies and legislation on stopping the spread of so-called party drugs. – With Paolo Romero