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Wednesday, February 08, 2006
Crowd ‘treated like animals’; 3 liable
MANILA -- The inter-agency fact-finding task force that looked into the deadly stampede at a game show said that organizers ABS-CBN failed to provide security for fans and could be held criminally liable.
Not having any contingency plans “borders on irresponsible and incompetent management of the situation at best, to criminal negligence and endangerment leading to the loss of life at worst,” the task force said.
The task force, created by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo following Saturday’s tragedy, said both producers and staff working on the popular noontime game show “Wowowee” were to blame for the stampede, which left 74 people dead and more than 500 injured.
It said three ABS-CBN officials are liable for the stampede.
However, the task force, headed by Undersecretary for Public Safety Marius Corpus of the Department of the Interior and Local Government, refused to name the three persons because they do not want to preempt any moves by the Department of Justice.
The task force findings will also be forwarded to the National Telecommunications Commission, which will establish the administrative aspect of the case.
During the press conference Tuesday, Corpus said the excitement of the people to get tickets to the show caused the stampede.
He said the crowd was “exploited,” “manipulated” and “treated” like animals when the people were tempted with limited raffle tickets.
Denials
“Offering a few tickets to so many people can be likened to throwing a small piece of meat to a pack of wolves, and this triggered the stampede,” Corpus said.
Eugenio Lopez III, chairman of ABS-CBN television network, which airs “Wowowee,” denied that they exploited the people.
Lopez said although they are outraged by the statement of the panel that the event organizers treated the crowd “as animals” prior to the stampede, the network will continue to cooperate with government agencies in the investigation.
“I am responsible and I will hold myself accountable should our justice system so determine in the future,” Lopez said in a statement.
Contingency plan
While there appeared to be “no willful intent” to harm or cause injury, ABS-CBN officials could be charged with “reckless imprudence and negligence” leading to homicide, Corpus said.
ABS-CBN assistant vice president for security Rene Luspo admitted to investigators on Sunday that the network had expected a crowd of about 25,000.
He also admitted not having a contingency plan for a possible riot or stampede, and that police officials were not present during security meetings ahead of the show.
Corpus said the melee erupted after someone from ABS-CBN announced to the crowd that not everyone could be accommodated, and those who couldn’t get in would be given lesser prizes instead.
The task force recommended several measures to avoid a repeat of the incident.
Event organizers, it said, should have a contingency plan prior to the issuance of a mayor’s permit; a health emergency preparedness and response plan and an operational plan and risk reduction management plan.
Permits for events issued by local government units should also be reviewed and networking and coordination should be strengthened among various sectors.
Corpus also asked the ABS-CBN management to supervise their event organizers to prevent the occurrence of a similar incident.
He said the television network never learned from similar incidents in past events such as the F4 concert and the “Magandang Tanghali Bayan” in 2000 when minor stampedes also took place.
He said the organizers should also establish emergency management systems, train local chief executives and all heads of offices as well as managers on mass casualty incident command system and have emergency response teams to include equipped ambulances with competent personnel.
In Cebu City, Vice Mayor Michael Rama will deliver a privilege speech at the council’s regular session Wednesday.
He will discuss the task force he created that will look into “crowd control and security measures” during huge public gatherings.
This way, the stampede in Manila will not happen in Cebu City. (AFP/JFF/Sunnex/With GAC of Sun.Star Cebu)
(February 8, 2006 issue)
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