Music fest cancelled due to unrully crowd
The Associate of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Music Festival 2017 was supposed to be a night of fun and music for international and local bands as well as concert-goers Tuesday night at the Ayala Triangle Gardens in Makati City until the crowd went into frenzy, which prompted the ASEAN National Organizing Committee (NOC) to cancel the event.
Senior Superintendent Gerardo Umayao, chief of Makati police, said that over 30 attendees collapsed and many others sustained injuries and abrasions when the crowd started shoving each other as soon as the first performing band, “Parokya ni Edgar,” came out on stage around 7:30 p.m.
The event, which was a sideline of the 31st ASEAN Summit in celebration of the bloc’s 50th anniversary, was cut short around 9 p.m.
Some of the bands, which were supposed to perform at the event and the attendees, expressed dismay about the organizer’s lack of security preparation which resulted in the “failed event’.
Parokya ni Edgar frontman Alfonso “Chito” Miranda Jr. took to his official Twitter account (@chitomirandajr) his concern: Sana next time hindi na maunderestimate kung gaano kabuhay ang local music scene. Di daw kasi nila ine-expect na ganoon kadami ang pupunta kaya ‘di nila napaghandaan ng maayos. Buti nalang walang major injuries. May this serve as a lesson na maging mas handa next time. Long live OPM!
Sandwich frontman Raymund Marasigan (@raymsmercygun) also tweeted about the placing of monoblocks at the site of the event: The show is stalled because people are standing on seats. IMHO (In my honest opinion) monoblocks in shows with rock bands don’t usually go well together.
Another local band, The Ransom Collective (@TheRansomCMusic), felt sorry of what happened: So sorry about what’s happened at the #aseanmusicfestph. We love you guys and thanks so much to those who tried to come out tonight. The organizers worked hard to make this event happen but they chose to prioritize the safety of everyone instead.
One of the attendees, @ abbygailvaldez, said that instead of having fun, she sustained injuries during the event: ASEAN Music Festival gave me bruises on my right leg, a scratch on my left leg, blisters, and a bleeding toe hehez.
Gwendell Aranda (@Dr_Gwendell), also among the thousands of attendees, said that the mess was shameful to the guests: Napakachaotic ng ASEAN Music Festival. The barricades were placed there to be organized. So bakit tinanggal? Nakakahiya tuloy sa mga guests. Kawawa pa ‘yung mga matatanda na na-mob sa gitna. To the audience, nasaan ang discipline? Ngayon lang ba nakakita ng banda?
Aside from Parokya ni Edgar, Sandwich and The Ransom Collective, other local rock bands which were supposed to perform include Franco, Silent Sanctuary, and Ben&Ben.
There were also international acts from ASEAN-member states including music icons Asia 7 of Thailand, Nading Rhapsody of Malaysia, Nimith and Sophea of Cambodia, Sack Cells of Laos, Eint Chit of Myanmar, Mia Ismi Halida of Indonesia, Tuan Anh of Vietnam, and D’Hask of Brunei Darussalem.
The maximum capacity of the Ayala Triangle Gardens was placed at 6,000, but authorities said the crowd that trooped to the place reached about 15,000 because it was free of admission and announced in social media.
Senior Supt. Umayao clarified that the organizers just wanted to ensure the safety of the attendees so they stopped the event.
“Ang alam ko lang, ipinatigil ng NOC (National Organizing Committee) ‘yun for public safety. Sobrang init kasi at sobrang dami ng tao and it’s for the best interest of everybody not to pursue the concert,” he said.