Group wants foreign concert artists tested for drugs

MANILA, Philippines - An anti-narcotics advocacy group has called on the government to subject foreign artists performing in concerts to drug testing.

In a letter to Bureau of Immigration furnished to the Department of Justice on Aug.25, the group Laban ng Pamilyang Pilipino (LPP) sought mandatory drug testing of foreign performers as a requisite to issuance of their special working permits.

LPP founding chair Jonathan Morales said no new legislative measure is necessary as drug testing is already provided under Republic Act 9165 (Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act) and Department of Labor and Employment Order 53 in 2003.

“It is not a secret that it is usual for performers (mostly foreign artists) and spectators to be using illegal drugs in rock concerts; we want to avoid this,” the group stressed in the letter obtained by The STAR.

Apart from foreign performers, the LPP also asked the government to subject local promoters and their employees to the drug testing.

“Should the results be negative, they should be required to post a cash bond as a guarantee that their people, especially foreign artists, staffs and crew will not use illegal drugs not only during the concert but also within the duration of their stay in the Philippines,” they suggested.

The LPP has urged the government to enforce this measure for the upcoming Road to Ultra Philippines concert in Pasay City on Sept. 17 so that the event “will not be embarrassment for the Philippines and that public safety will not compromised.”

“We don’t want a repeat of the tragic Close-Up Forever Summer concert last May 22 where five young people died, that’s why we strongly urged the authorities concerned to make sure that the concert venue is drug-free,” they said.

Reports had it that the victims took the party drug called “green amore” – a mixture of Ecstasy and shabu – before they died.