Ultra stampede preceded by minor one at another gate?

The National Bureau of Investigation is looking at the possibility that two separate stampedes killed 71 people while they were queuing up at the Philippine Sports Arena (formerly Ultra) for the noontime show "Wowowee" in the early morning of Feb. 4.

Rosauro Bautista, NBI-National Capital Region executive officer, said they were verifying reports that prior to the stampede outside the LRP gate on Capt. Henry Javier street, another commotion took place at the adjacent entrance on St. Martin street.

The NBI has received unverified information that the throng of people had first wanted to enter the St. Martin gate which leads to the covered court of the Philsports Arena where the ABS-CBN show "Wowowee" was supposed to be held, he added.

Three persons have already given the same account, Bautista said.

Jesus Gelacio, 25, of Antipolo City told NBI-NCR regional director Ruel Lasala that he also heard stories that there was a stampede on St. Martin street, but he did not know if people had died.

"There was gossip that there were those who fainted and were stepped on by the crowd and may have died on the side of St. Martin street," he said.

Gelacio said he was positioned near the St. Martin entrance, but that a policeman in a patrol car told them to transfer to the LRP gate. The two reported commotions along St. Martin and Captain Javier streets allegedly happened an hour apart, or around 6 a.m. and 7 a.m.

Bautista said the two streets are 100 meters apart.

"Maybe they were told to go to the LRP gate because the covered court was already full and they were merely advised to watch the show from the oval (area) where the organizers set up a wide screen," he said.

"To get to the oval, they have to pass by the LRP gate."

The NBI is coordinating its investigation with the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) and has asked complainants being assisted by non-government organization to come to the NBI-NCR to give their statements and help determine possible liability.

It would be up to the Department of Justice to name the respondents in the case if charges are filed.

Authorities estimated there were more than 30,000 people who flocked to the show, hoping they would be lucky winners of millions of pesos in prizes.

Not all of them could have been accommodated since the covered court only has a seating capacity of 9,000, while the oval area can seat 8,000 people.

An additional 9,000 people could fit in the oval, if the management had allowed the public to occupy the grass in the middle of the oval.

Gelacio was one of the 30 witnesses who proceeded to the NBI office and gave their accounts of the "Wowowee" tragedy.

Apart from giving testimony, he also showed the officials five photographs he took of the stampede using his cellular phone.

Lasala said they would use the pictures in their fact-finding investigation and arranged for blow-ups of the pictures.

In one photograph, a man was shown trying to remove a window pane to help a child escape from the chaos.

Gelacio said a security guard was hitting the hands of those climbing up and one even used a piece of plywood to cover the opening.

A malunggay tree fell and hit an electrical wire, but he was uncertain about reports that someone had been electrocuted, he added.

Meanwhile, Isabela Rep. Rodolfo Albano III appeal to all concerned parties to stop finger-pointing.

"Let us stop this. Our priority should be how to help victims and their families in any way we can so they can start anew and get on with their lives," he said.

He said some people have become so cynical that even the sources of funds being given to the stampede victims were being questioned.

"It is unfair to cast aspersion on the motives of those who were just trying to help. It does not in any way ease the pain of the victims," he added.

Albano was apparently referring to questions raised about broadcasting giant ABS-CBN’s alleged use of funds and personnel from the ABS-CBN Foundation and Bantay Bata to help victims and their families.

The noontime game show "Wowowee," which was planning to air its first anniversary broadcast on the day of the stampede, is under ABS-CBN.

Albano also urged victims and their families to forget about filing charges against the network and concerned government and police officials "since this will only prolong their pain, suffering and agony."

"Nobody wanted this to happen, not the people who went there, not the network, not the host, not the staff, not the policemen, and certainly not the government. Since not one of the victims or relatives of those who died in the accident seems to be interested in filing charges, let’s just learn the lessons of this tragedy through the hard way and leave it at that," he said.

He said those lessons could be learned from the results of the investigation being conducted by concerned agencies.

"The stampede is a catastrophe that should affect each one of us (and) this magnifies the reality that a lot of work needs to be done by all parties concerned to avoid the recurrence of such a disaster," he added.

The Department of Justice has taken over the probe initially begun by a fact-finding committee headed by Interior Undersecretary Marius Corpus. The committee had found at least three ABS-CBN personnel responsible for the stampede.

But Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez said city and police officials of Pasig were not yet off the hook, while Pasig Rep. Robert Jaworski Jr. said such officials should share the blame with the television network. — Evelyn Macairan, Aurea Calica