?Wowowee? victims decry lack of aid 2 years after stampede (Inquirer)
Amorin said ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corp., the network that produces the Wowowee game show, had not given her and other injured victims any financial help to treat their injuries and the ailments — both physical and psychological — that soon followed.
?I don?t go into crowded places anymore. I also don?t take the MRT during rush hour. I?m afraid something bad will happen,? Amorin, a self-employed mother of four, told the Philippine Daily Inquirer, adding that she still gets flashbacks of the tragedy.
On the morning of Feb. 4, 2006, a Saturday, 74 people were crushed to death as thousands rushed the Philsports Arena gates in Pasig City as soon as these were opened by security guards.
According to the National Bureau of Investigation, over 800 people were injured in the mad rush to get in for a chance at millions of pesos in prizes.
Of that number, 285 had sought financial assistance from the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC).
Amorin said she had not had a comprehensive X-ray since the stampede. The only medication she received was a pack of mefenamic acid to dull the pain, she said.
Montserrat Bernardo, 55, said she has had a bad back since a steel barricade fell on her. She considered Amorin lucky because she was given painkillers while she received nothing.
?It has been two years. We have not received anything from Wowowee. Not even a bag of rice as a consolation,? Bernardo said.
The network may have helped some families whose members died in the stampede, but it wasn?t the promise tearful network executives made on the arena stage two years ago, the victims said.
?They said they will help all of us,? Amorin said. ?We are not asking for much. I myself only want financial assistance for my X-ray,? she said.
Mga walang puso and a bunch of liars.
Justice for the Wowowee Stampede Victims!
