Empty Promises

Now this is nonsense: Dying in a stampede to try and get into a variety show that promises to give away millions of pesos, a house and lot and a car.

While this nice to hear as a fantasy I think the likely reaction is to cringe when you hear that almost 70 people died for this "promise". The news said people lined up as early as Thursday morning to get into the stadium which was to open at 6am on Saturday morning. So that's what the crowd was all about: I left my apartment on Friday afternoon and wondered why the road in front of the village was so clogged with cars and people. Benc and I thought that there was an El Shaddai prayer rally going on--that's how thick the crowds were. In fact, as early as Friday morning, I noticed people lining up the side streets of ULTRA. There were no signs at all to tell people on Meralco avenue that there was an event that was causing all the traffic.

Well, don't expect the government to have any foresight. For one, they didn't expect such a turnout. Then again, you'd think they'd at least have some contingency plan. Then again, you'd think they would have, even in their guts, a feeling that something COULD happen. If they really were concerned government/civil servants, they would have a pulse about the populace they were serving, and realize how an event like this would affect their constituents.

Everyone knows how the media affects Filipinos--oh another motherhood statement, right. But we all know what it can do. That's an uncontested fact (but it's not an agreement to the bullet theory either). You'd think these people would be smart enough to foresee the audience profile, the history of these organizers, the likely turnout and security needed. Then again, they are from the government.

You can only expect and ask for so much. What irritates me, I guess, is that, we never seem to care. The organizers and sponsors mount a show for "the people," to "help" them, to give them some happiness. But they don't think about these patrons' comfort, the inconvenience,
the difficulty of travel just to get to the event site. I'll bet they didn;t think about the
effect this would have that would make their audience camp out. They just want the head count to tell sponsors they fulfilled the contract. They want the stories if how much these people sacrificed to get there to play it up to prove to everyone how much they--the program, Willie Revillame and ABS-CBN is so loved. That's all they care about. They give no thought to the safety and security. And without those, they won't think about requesting for back-up guards and first-aid and logistical control.

And the Pasig governement! You'd think that, being the location of one of the biggest stadiums in the metropolis, they would have plans and strategies for these things. Being in that position requires you to anticipate, and TRAIN people for things like this! You'd think that, without batting an eyelash the local government would send staff over to assist. But no. They had to sit pretty til someone tells them 60 people have died in a stampede.

Now, I don't know whether to put some responsibility on the audience as well. I suppose they are responsible in some way for this. Seeing how crazy it was getting, they should have stopped. Seeing how thick the crowds were, theyshould have stepped out. When people were starting to get hurt, they should have just left. For some it was too late, unfortunately.

I don't know how to begin to tell them that nobody whoever got rich quick was able to stay rich. I guess this is the curse of our ancestors before us. They hardly ever taught us that get-rich-quick schemes and promises are empty promises. These people held on to the false hope that they would all be the 1 in 100,000 who would win the house, the money and the car. I don't honestly know if that was it or they were just so sick and tired of their problems they thought a day (or three) of lining up to watch a two hour variety show and see thier favorite celebrities would alleviate some of their suffering.

Poor people are not poor because they don't own a house and car and earn P500,000 annually. They're poor because they don't realize how much they are worth as people and how they much more good they can do for themselves and for other people. They don't have to work in a posh building and wear expensive clothes and eat expensive food and travel and drive fancy cars. All they have to do is know their worth as human beings and everything will follow. Respect will follow, health will follow, godd relationships will follow, the right compensation will follow, a good life will follow.

Wouldn't this have been worth much more than dying in a stampede of empty promises?