50 faint, 1 hurt in Pasay concert

MANILA, Philippines — More than 50 concert-goers fainted and at least one was injured when a stampede nearly occurred during free concert at a mall in Pasay City on Friday night, an official said yesterday.

The concert’s organizer, Coke Studio PH, decided to stop the event shortly after 140 police officers failed to control the crowd, according to Senior Superintendent Noel Flores, city police chief.

The concert, attended by between 15,000 and 20,000 persons, started at around 3 p.m. and was suspended by around 4:30 p.m., he said.

“This is an annual event, but as compared to the previous years hindi naman ganyan kadami ang tao so talagang hindi na-control (there were so many people compared to previous years so the crowd could not be controlled) kaya the organizer decided to stop it to ensure the safety of the people,” Flores said. 

The city police chief said some of the concert-goers were threatening the safety of the rest of the audience by throwing water bottles, engaging in horseplay and jumping over the barricades.

He said the organizers feared the unruly members of the crowd may have been under the influence of illegal drugs but he said police have not confirmed reports of illegal drug activities at the event.

Coke Studio PH said in a statement that they are resetting the concert to the first quarter of 2019 following what happened on Friday afternoon. 

 “We, together with the artists, promise a bigger, better Coke Studio concert for everyone. We will endeavor to get a venue that can accommodate more attendees,” Coke Studio PH said in a statement. 

As far as Flores is concerned, he said the organizer could not be held liable over the incident as it acted swiftly when it suspended the concert.