I was no longer surprised when I heard the news Saturday morning that a stampede happened at Ultra, where the anniversary special program of Wowowee was supposed to be aired live.
A StAmPeDe is not supposed to be an unexpected event during special shows, especially if a large number of people is expected to attend. I heard first-hand stories and experienced being in the middle of a really large crowd so I know that a stampede can always happen especially if the security units of the show are NOT PREPARED with contingency plans.
I remember, there was one time when my students, who served as ushers in the silver anniversary special of Eat Bulaga, came to see me after the show to tell me that a stampede happened, which they thought might have caused injuries or slight discomfort on the part of the attendees/viewers. They told me how "unmanageable" the crowd was. Well, that so-called stampede didn't make it to the newspapers' headlines the following day because there was not even a single casualty. No life was claimed, no one sued the management. So there was no issue.
When I was in high school and in college, I remember attending a variety show at ABS-CBN. The first one was at the studio, the second, and the last one, was at Burnham Park in Baguio City. I actually went to watch the program because my friends invited me to go with them. Anyway, after the shows, I didn't remember how Dayanara Torres or Jao Mapa or the Apo HIking Society performed onstage. All I remember was the uncomfortable feeling of being in a crowd. Unahan sa pila, tulakan, sigawan ng mga pikon at asar sa guwardiya, at iyak ng mga bata na di na makatagal sa init at pagod sa pagpila pa lang!
I haven't learned my lessons then. I still managed to watch the concert of ERASERHEADS with my dormmates at KIKO dorm in Baguio. I actually enjoyed the concert of E-heads then because I really liked their music, not to mention, they're UPians, so marami kaming from UP Baguio na nanood, and I got free ticket from the station manager of an FM station in Baguio :)
The problem with that concert was the long line. May tiket naman lahat but unmanageable talaga ang crowd. Unahan, singitan, etc. (I didn't experience this when I watched the concert of the Side A band. Their music is laid back, and the audience is usually the not-so-young people kaya medyo organized).
Anyway, the point is this: How can the organizers of Wowowee tolerate the fact that the people have been waiting outside ULTRA for several hours? If they can afford to give away millions of pesos for prizes, why didn't they invest on alert and reliable security? Of course, it is true that the organizers didn't want that to happen but the thing is, no matter what they say, lives have already been claimed by the incident.
Those who were dreaming of millions got nothing but useless tickets and lack of concern from the management.
This event calls for a review of the game shows that promise millions to poor Filipinos. This also calls for a reconsideration of Willie Revillame as an unlucky host. He has always been so unfortunate. I know this statement is irrelevant but I just wonder why these things happen to such a rude and incredible host. ABS-CBN should accept that they have no luck in NOONTIME VARIETY SHOWS even if they can lure the poor families with two million pesos.
Silly game show.
Condemn poverty.
OUr life's worth is more than two million bucks!
A StAmPeDe is not supposed to be an unexpected event during special shows, especially if a large number of people is expected to attend. I heard first-hand stories and experienced being in the middle of a really large crowd so I know that a stampede can always happen especially if the security units of the show are NOT PREPARED with contingency plans.
I remember, there was one time when my students, who served as ushers in the silver anniversary special of Eat Bulaga, came to see me after the show to tell me that a stampede happened, which they thought might have caused injuries or slight discomfort on the part of the attendees/viewers. They told me how "unmanageable" the crowd was. Well, that so-called stampede didn't make it to the newspapers' headlines the following day because there was not even a single casualty. No life was claimed, no one sued the management. So there was no issue.
When I was in high school and in college, I remember attending a variety show at ABS-CBN. The first one was at the studio, the second, and the last one, was at Burnham Park in Baguio City. I actually went to watch the program because my friends invited me to go with them. Anyway, after the shows, I didn't remember how Dayanara Torres or Jao Mapa or the Apo HIking Society performed onstage. All I remember was the uncomfortable feeling of being in a crowd. Unahan sa pila, tulakan, sigawan ng mga pikon at asar sa guwardiya, at iyak ng mga bata na di na makatagal sa init at pagod sa pagpila pa lang!
I haven't learned my lessons then. I still managed to watch the concert of ERASERHEADS with my dormmates at KIKO dorm in Baguio. I actually enjoyed the concert of E-heads then because I really liked their music, not to mention, they're UPians, so marami kaming from UP Baguio na nanood, and I got free ticket from the station manager of an FM station in Baguio :)
The problem with that concert was the long line. May tiket naman lahat but unmanageable talaga ang crowd. Unahan, singitan, etc. (I didn't experience this when I watched the concert of the Side A band. Their music is laid back, and the audience is usually the not-so-young people kaya medyo organized).
Anyway, the point is this: How can the organizers of Wowowee tolerate the fact that the people have been waiting outside ULTRA for several hours? If they can afford to give away millions of pesos for prizes, why didn't they invest on alert and reliable security? Of course, it is true that the organizers didn't want that to happen but the thing is, no matter what they say, lives have already been claimed by the incident.
Those who were dreaming of millions got nothing but useless tickets and lack of concern from the management.
This event calls for a review of the game shows that promise millions to poor Filipinos. This also calls for a reconsideration of Willie Revillame as an unlucky host. He has always been so unfortunate. I know this statement is irrelevant but I just wonder why these things happen to such a rude and incredible host. ABS-CBN should accept that they have no luck in NOONTIME VARIETY SHOWS even if they can lure the poor families with two million pesos.
Silly game show.
Condemn poverty.
OUr life's worth is more than two million bucks!
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