Concert execs tell NBI: We put guards vs drugs

AN OFFICIAL of Closeup said on Tuesday that the company delegated the security and safety arrangements to two other companies since they were “not experts” in organizing large events.

In an affidavit submitted to the National Bureau of Investigation-Death Investigation Division, Closeup marketing director Albert Cornelius Tiu Trinidad said that the safety and security of attendees at the May 21 open-air concert was their “No. 1  priority.”

Trinidad said that with this in mind, they hired Eventscape, an events management group, to handle the concessionaires. On the other hand, marketing and advertising company Activations Advertising was in charge of the security and safety plan.

He added that the police was tapped as “support” and to serve as a “deterrent” to  concert-goers carrying prohibited items, including illegal drugs. The organizers also allowed 10 plainclothes policemen inside the venue “to identify and respond to illegal activity.”

Meetings since Sept  2015

Activations Advertising’s security plan showed that 100 policemen and 250 bouncers were among those tapped to secure the site. The policemen were in charge of the perimeter while bouncers were tasked with frisking the concert-goers and ensuring security within the venue.

Trinidad said they held several meetings starting in September 2015 on the security of partygoers and ensure that illegal drugs would not be smuggled inside the concert grounds.

The security plan was also “designed to protect attendees from various types of “risks” that included terrorism, natural disasters and medical emergencies, he added.

Trinidad also stressed that they increased the number of medical responders this year compared to previous years with 29 medical personnel and two doctors. A check made by the Inquirer showed that the first Closeup Forever Summer event was held in 2013.

He added that a month before the concert, Activations presented to them its security plan. One of the measures taken to deter possible drug use was “informing attendees that certain items, including illegal drugs, were prohibited in the venue.”