Malolos City—Ilocos Norte Gov. Imee Marcos joined thousands of Bulacan youths here in a concert dubbed KUYA (Kabataang Umiindak, Yes, Aprub!) at the Bulacan Sports Complex in Barangay Sta. Isabel here.
The concert, featuring main artist Parokya ni Edgar with Shanti Dope, December Avenue and local bands, was free admission as birthday gift of Rep. Jonathan Sy-Alvarado to his constituents in the towns of Pulilan, Calumpit, Paombong, Bulakan and residents of this capital city.
Gov. Imee, who spoke to the big crowd, estimated at some 45, 000, before crowd-favorite Shanti Dope performance, talked on how she intends to solve the present problem of households particularly the unstable prices of basis commodities like rice due to inflation.
She explained to the audience mostly highs school and college students that he will apply the economic formula that became successful in Ilocos Norte and had benefitted the entire Ilocos Region where the price of well-milled quality commercial rice is retailed at P27/kilo only.
She said they were able to do this in her province by buying palay at 25/kilo only and the provincial government shoulder all the cost of milling with only a P2 mark-up for hauling and transportation. The purpose is not to earn from buying palay and selling the grain but to help our provincemates buy quality rice for their daily meals at affordable price.
“All we need to do is equip our farmers nationwide with modern farm equipments and hybrid quality seeds, that produce abundant harvest, coupled with sustained irrigation year-round so that we can assured of continuous palay,” Marcos said.
Before Marcos spoke, a video presentation of her in the middle of a rice field, with farmers in the background, and exuded an upbeat mood as she mingles with townsfolks in public market to deliver her message of giving priority to agriculture as the main focus of her senatorial bid.
After her short intermission, she went back to the concert seat and was seen singing along with the hit songs of Shanti Dope.
Meanwhile, scores were hurt and at least four female students were brought to the hospital for head and body wounds after impatient ticket-holders breached an entrance door resulting to a stampede where mostly females were trampled upon by rushing concert-goers.
As early as 3pm, throngs of concert-goers have formed a thick long line that stretched outside the sidewalks of McArthur Highway creating a monstrous traffic jam around the concert venue.
Concert organizers apparently failed to anticipate that huge crowd at the free concert that arrived in droves. By the time concert officials assessed that the venue cannot accommodate the big crowd outside the complex, officials lock down all the gates that triggered the stampede.