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‘The Punisher’ to crack down on EDM events

New Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte, who supports hanging drug dealers, says dance music shows "won't be banned, but regulated for sure" after deaths in Manila

By Jon Chapple on 24 May 2016

President Rodrigo 'Rody' Duterte

image © Facebook.com/rodyduterte

The Philippines’ president-elect, Rodrigo Duterte, has backed calls for stronger regulation of the country’s live music sector as an investigation continues into the deaths of five people at dance music festival Forever Summer on Saturday.

In an interview in Makati today, Duterte (pictured) commented that illegal drugs are passed around “like any other commodity” at large Philippine music events, and said that, “after I assume the presidency, I would [not] be keen on activities such as these [dance music concerts]. They would not be banned, but regulated for sure.”

Duterte, who won a landslide election on 9 May on a ‘war of crime’ platform, has previously vowed to bring back the death penalty for murderers, rapists and drug dealers. “I will hit hard on drugs and I promise [criminals] hell,” the outgoing mayor of Davao City, nicknamed ‘the Punisher’, said in his first press conference. “If you resist, show violent resistance, my order to police will be to shoot to kill. Shoot to kill for organised crime. You heard that? Shoot to kill for every organised crime.”

While police and coroners have yet to disclose details about what caused the deaths, some festivalgoers have on social media said the victims took ‘green amore’ – a mix of MDMA and shabu, or methamphetamine (‘crystal meth’).