Entrepreneurial Farmer

By Ambrosio R. Villorente


What Triggers The Stampede?

“ABS-CBN event organizers treated the people like animals”, said Undersecretary Marius Corpus during a hearing about the stampede that happened on Saturday morning, February 4, 2006.

Corpus is the undersecretary of the DILG and head of the investigating task force to find out what triggers the stampede which left 74 people killed and 359 injured. The tragedy happened at the Philsports Arena, Pasig City while the people were entering the Philsports Arena to witness the game show “WOWOWEE” of ABS-CBN hosted by Willie Revillame. It was the first year anniversary of the game show.

Several days, before the scheduled first year anniversary of the WOWOWEE, ABS-CBN made repetitious announcements and ads over radio T.V. encouraging people to attend and join the fun, entertainment, millions pesos in cash and even house and lot as prizes. There was a promise of P1,000,000.00 to the first 300 persons to enter the venue.

Enticed by the promise of more fun and relaxation and instant cash, people begun arriving at the Philsports days before the show to be the first to enter and get the best chance to win the P1,000,000.00. They came from the provinces, encamped themselves in front of the two gates of the arena. They stayed there, slept, ate, urinated and defecated there with their children and grand children. People continuously arrived until the early morning of February 4 when about 25,000 – 30,000 persons competed for space outside the Philsports Arena. They jockeyed for position toward the gate and be the first to enter to have a good chance to win prizes.

But people became impatient. They were tired, maybe hungry, thirsty, lack sleep and their chances of entering the Philsport Arena was diminishing as the number of people was increasing. The capacity of the venue was at that time smaller to accommodate those people outside. There were announcement requesting some to just leave the place as they cannot all be accommodated inside.

“People then started pushing and shoving one another. The steel barrier by the gate gave way that eventually started the stampede”, Mr. Rene Luspo, chief security officer of ABS-CBN told the fact-finding panel. As a result, 74 persons died and 359 injured during the stampede.
Who is responsible for the stampede? One can easily point who is the culprit after reading newspaper and radio TV reports about the incident. ABS-CBN invited those people, they should have provided adequate provisions for crowd control, first aides like ambulances in case of stampede like what occurred and riot. ABS-CBN invited those people and therefore they were its guests who must be taken care of.

The local government of Pasig City is also partly responsible. There seemed some failure on the part of LGU to provide the necessary assistance to the WOWOWEE event organizers as provided in the local government code.

The stampede was a classic demonstration of the Filipino people’s desire for more fun, entertainment and the strong desire to access to resources like the jackpot prize of P1,000,000 and house and lot. Resources are so inaccessible to millions of Filipinos so that even in a game show they would participate.

The stampede for fabulous prizes at WOWOWEE game show ended a great tragedy. Some lost their lives, injured themselves and spent efforts for nothing. /MP