Pasig mayor says findings of Task Force Ultra ‘objective’

Pasig City Mayor Vicente Eusebio stood by the findings of a fact-finding body that looked into the stampede at the PhilSports Arena (formerly Ultra), saying they were "objective."

In a press briefing, Eusebio said he did not volunteer to become a member of the Task Force Ultra, but was assigned by the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), the lead agency in the investigation of the Nov. 4 stampede that claimed 74 lives.

He said the findings should not create more issues since a lot of parties have already been affected.

"It is a learning experience not only for the show organizers, but also the local government unit and the police," the mayor said.

Eusebio called a press conference after TV network ABS-CBN questioned the credibility of the task force and rejected its findings that blamed organizers of the noontime show Wowowee for the stampede.

ABS-CBN complained that the task force had members who were "involved in the event."

Apart from Eusebio, other task force members included Interior and Local Government Undersecretary Marius Corpus and Metro police chief Director Vidal Querol.

Corpus earlier earned the ire of the TV network for saying it had treated people lining for tickets "like animals."

He later apologized for his comment.

Unlike Corpus, however, Eusebio said he would not apologize to ABS-CBN over the task force’s findings.

The mayor said he would let the Department of Justice and the National Bureau of Investigation gather additional evidence in their separate probes on the stampede. "Ibigay natin ang right nila kasi gobyerno din naman sila at kung ano ang paningin nila ang dapat," Eusebio said. "I stand by the findings of the task force."

The mayor insisted that the show organizers did not coordinate with his office or the police on what should be done when the crowd camping outside Ultra started to swell.

When he issued the permit, he was made to believe that it was for charity and that the expected number of participants would reach 30,000.

"Sinabi nila (ABS-CBN) na ganoon kalaking crowd ang darating at tinanong naman namin kung ano ang gagawin nila at sabi nila maglalagay sila ng screen," Eusebio said.

He said the organizers paid only P2,000 in taxes because it was for charity and security was not included.

The mayor said no personal calls or effort to secure the Ultra premises had been made by the organizers of the show when the crowd started to swell on the eve of the tragedy.

"They did not inform us that they could no longer handle the crowd. They locked the gates at 6 a.m. on that fatal day and told the crowd that there were only 300 remaining slots for the raffle," Eusebio said. "Dapat gabi pa lang ng Biyernes nagpapasok na sila."