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Thursday, February 09, 2006
ABS-CBN rejects findings; NBI to probe further
The Department of Justice dismissed as “inadequate” a report of a fact-finding team of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) that looked into last Saturday’s deadly stampede in Pasig City, prompting it to tap the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to conduct a more extensive study on the incident.
ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corp. also rejected the findings of the Task Force Ultra and called for an “impartial investigation.”
The company took offense to lead investigator Interior Undersecretary Marius Corpus’ comments Tuesday alleging that the crowd was “treated like animals,” saying “irresponsible statements” about the stampede have hurt ABS-CBN’s share price.
At least 74 people were killed and more than 500 were injured in the stampede.
About 30,000 people showed at the Philsports Arena to line up for the ABS-CBN noontime game show “Wowowee” last Saturday. The stadium can only hold 17,000 people.
Although he apologized to the TV network, Corpus stood by his statement.
“It’s the truth. How can I take back the truth? It’s hard to face the truth sometimes but we have to face it. And I’m willing to face the consequences for saying the truth,” he said.
Corpus said yesterday that his remarks against the network were personal and not part of their investigation report.
Last Monday, he criticized the “Wowowee” organizers for “allegedly treating its fans like animals” by offering 300 tickets to some 30,000 people. He said the excitement of the people to get tickets caused the stampede.
The report submitted by Corpus revealed that at least three members of the organizers should be held liable for the incident.
Meanwhile, the Cebu City Council asked organizers to make sure preemptive security measures are in place in every event staged here in the city.
Vice Mayor Michael Rama delivered a privilege speech and asked the councilors to come up with suggestions because his office, along with that of Councilor Procopio Fernandez and the city attorney, is drafting an ordinance to that effect.
In particular, Rama wants event organizers to submit a detailed security plan when they ask for a mayor’s permit.
They must also put up a guarantee fund or a bond when staging big events to ensure that security is given priority to avert untoward incidents.
Rama also asked Congress to scrutinize the country’s Building Code for possible amendments, taking into consideration the lessons learned during the stampede.
City Councilor Edgardo Labella, who noted the failure of Pasig officials to ensure the people’s safety, also asked the DILG to institute measures to uphold the general welfare clause of the Local Government Code.
“The fact-finding report did not dwell exhaustively on the role of the local government unit. I am in a quandary why the local government of Pasig just turned a blind eye,” he said.
City Councilor Gerardo Carillo likewise asked event organizers to coordinate with the City Disaster Coordinating Council to prepare contingency measures that would include that for worst-case scenarios.
City Councilor Gabriel Leyson, on the other hand, noted that people nowadays are unruly and no longer know how to follow instructions like falling in line.
Mark Nepomuceno, ABS-CBN vice president for human relations and a member of the Ultra incident committee, denied the claims of Corpus’ committee that they did not coordinate with concerned agencies on the conduct of the show last Saturday.
He admitted that Corpus’ remarks had hurt them but they have no plan of taking legal actions against the DILG official.
Nepomuceno said they will continue to cooperate with any investigation on the stampede provided that they will get fair treatment.
Assistant Chief State Prosecutor Richard Anthony Fadullon said the data gathering of the DILG fact-finding team was limited because they were given only 72 hours to complete its report.
Fadullon said the NBI can look at other possible angles that may have been overlooked by investigators.
“It’s not as simple as saying that ‘Sir, many people died, many others were wounded so we should file a case.’ Everything should be based on evidence, we cannot base it on what people say,” he said.
Fadullon said DILG should specify whether the report they submitted was an actual complaint, in which case, they should specify the names and addresses of the people as well as their possible liabilities.
He said that for the prosecution of the case to move, the DILG should have attached more documents such as the medical certificates, affidavits, sworn statements and pictures of the victims. (Sunnex)/RHM)
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (February 9, 2006 issue)
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