THE ULTRA STAMPEDE

From various regions of the land, the poor, the needy and the fanatics even as early as Monday armed only with dreams of winning a prize (or seeing their favorite celebrities to flash their shiny white teeth) only to realize that it was nightmare that would welcome them. 74 lives, most of them women and housewives, died from the stampede. There were hundreds were hospitalized and injured and the Philippine Saturday morning was never been the same.

My eyes were lately glued on primetime TV news monitoring updates on the recent tragedy. Indeed, there are lots of things to see and to hear.

I admire ABS CBN news and current affairs for still delivering good and investigative news on the incident to the public. In their reports, they delivered it as if the news room are not connected with their company. That’s good journalism.

The left and the opposition extends the finger pointing to the Arroyo government for taking for granted the poor even invented a catchy cliché---“70 live to a peso”--- a euphemism that a stronger peso against the dollar not exactly means economy is getting good and everyone is happy. Sure, what transpired that dawn mirrors how poverty drives our people crazy to do things to better of their lives. Not that I am apathetic on the subject but let me leave poverty eradications programs to the hands of policy making entities.

What we need now is a promise that this won’t happen again. Ooops! There we go again making a promise. We also need to lessen the pain of the victims. More than TV tributes, medical and funeral assistance, the stampede victims deserve justice. Someone should be sent to jail here because we are talking of 70 lives now gone. The liability of organizers extends beyond the perimeter of the event. When a person buy your invitation and fall in line unruly or tamed that person be, he became the event organizer responsibility.

An opinion of PDI was right in saying that Wowowee deserves another chance of airtime only to honor the tickets from the people last Saturday. Then after that, the show must cease. Please enough of this-is-a-pro-poor-show-with-a-good-vision-so-we-must-continue-it justifications.

This literature is for the victims.