The organisers of the Philippines game show where 74 people were killed in a stampede were guilty of security lapses and could now face criminal charges, an official said on Monday.
Interior undersecretary Marius Corpus, heading a probe into Saturday’s tragedy, said it would be up to judiciary officials to determine if the organisers of the Wow-wow-wee show should be held criminally liable.
“There were lapses. The things that should have been done were not done,” he said. “It is up to the department of justice because under the law, lack of foresight can be criminal.”
He said his task force had found that there was “no coordination with police in the field, no integrated security plan … no contingency plan to deal with every eventuality.”
Thousands of people rushed the gates at a Manila stadium where the show, which was giving away cash and prizes, was celebrating its one-year anniversary on Saturday with a top drawing of one million pesos ($19 250).
Seventy-four people were killed, most of them women, and more than 600 people were injured. Around 40% of the Philippines lives on two dollars a day.
Corpus aid that despite the huge crowd, the organisers of the show did not coordinate with the police for crowd control and had only brought in a small police force to check against pickpockets and other petty crimes.
Corpus, who was appointed by President Gloria Arroyo to head an investigation, said he was hopeful a final conclusion would be released by Tuesday. – AFP