The Wowowee ULTRA Stampede

Kamay sa baba!

Wowowee was the television show that could match the longest running noontime show in the Philippines, Eat Bulaga! Remember making the wave sign and shout "Wowowee!"

This is the common remark about the show which gave reality to a number of dreams of our fellow countrymen. Hosted by Willie Revillame, a hitmaker of a number of mainstream songs (remember Christmas with Boom Tarat Tarat, A Doo Doo Doo, I Giling Giling, Ikaw na Nga, Sayaw Darling, Kendeng Kendeng)  which little kids and grandmas sing alike, Wowowee is home to sexy dancers, young female hosts, funny and unforgettable games such as Pera o Bayong, Willie of Fortune, Hep Hep Hooray to name a few, and a number of hopeful  contestants who went home millionaires.

watchpinoytv.info

But one fateful day changed the history of noontime television viewing when 78 people died and 392 people were injured in a stampede last February 4, 2006 at ULTRA. A huge mob rushed in the entrance gate causing those nearer the entrance to be crushed. It was the first anniversary of the defunct noontime show which gathered about 30,000 people.

bayanihantayo.com

In a Wikipedia summary, about 6 am in the morning the organizers began distributing tickets to the crowd, most of them were waiting and camping out for days in the venue. Out of the people's impatience, the crowd became agitated to get ahead of the queue which caused the horrifying stampede.

ABS-CBN temporarily cancelled airing Wowowee and led efforts to recover dead bodies together with Philippine Red Cross and promised to assist victims financially. The 71 Dreams Foundation was created.

After further investigation, the following findings were unraveled:

• The show only offered very few tickets relative to the crowd which waited for days.
• There was an announcement that triggered and excited the crowd - only the first 300 participants could join the much awaited Pera o Bayong game.
• Task Force Ultra reported lack of coordination to the part of the organizers as the local police were not sought for assistance considering the huge crowd expected.

In 2008, the Supreme Court dismissed ABS-CBN's case of junking DOJ's investigation of the said incident. This means the department now has the right to indict those involved except Willie Revillame. Pope Benedict XVI expressed his sadness and offered prayers for the victims.

Guinness Book of World Records considers the event as having the most number of death toll in a game show.

What happened to the victims of the tragedy? How do we avoid such incident to happen again?

This is one of the Secrets and Scandals in 7107 Islands, Philippines.
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Credits to Inquirer.net and Wikipedia.com for the related articles.