CEBU (Updated) -- The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA)-Central Visayas is investigating reports that a 19-year-old woman (not 18 years old as earlier reported) died from ingesting a party drug after attending a concert on Saturday, January 19.
The PDEA confirmed to SunStar that it received a call from police that Ashley Avila Abad collapsed at the concert of Plus63. A PDEA team had checked the venue before the concert, and during the concert, policemen and soldiers were in the venue to help secure the area.
Plus63, an annual music and arts festival, was held at the grounds of the Cebu Business Park.
PDEA spokesperson Leia Albiar-Alcantara said they only learned about the death of Abad on Monday, January 21.
Alcantara said they sent a K9 dog to the area before the concert to inspect the site.
Perl Jacalan, the spokesperson for the concert organizer, said Abad collapsed around midnight.
“Our medical team was sought after the woman collapsed at the VIP deck area. Our on-site doctor immediately decided to bring her to the nearest hospital, Perpetual Succour Hospital,” she said.
Medical help on standby
She said four ambulances, with doctors, were in the area.
“We had medical teams and they were able to provide medical assistance. The doctor immediately made a call and she was brought to the hospital just minutes after she collapsed,” Jacalan said.
Abad was rushed to the Perpetual Succour Hospital in one of the ambulances, but she passed away around 3 p.m. Sunday, January 20.
Jacalan said the ambulances were deployed to the concert venue to respond to emergencies, since a lot of people were in the area to watch the event.
“The organizer really did due diligence... We express our deepest sympathies to the family,” Jacalan said.
Meanwhile, Mabolo Police Station Chief Dindo Juanito Alaras said they received a report about the incident, but Abad’s family did not report to him. He said his investigators will coordinate with the organizer.
Alcantara said investigators cannot say yet what party drug Abad had ingested.
The PDEA wanted to get Abad’s death certificate to check the cause of her death.
PDEA-Central Visayas Director Wardley Getalla had received information that illegal drugs would flood parties during the Sinulog week. (LMY/AYB of Superbalita Cebu/KAL)