Chief State Prosecutor Jovencito Zuño said the report submitted by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG)’s "Task Force Ultra" lacked important details and, therefore, could not be used as a basis for preliminary investigation.
At the stock market, ABS-CBN’s share price plunged yesterday amid reports that the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) might revoke the network’s license.
The DILG fact-finding panel found the broadcast network giant liable for the incident, saying it failed to put in place contingency plans in case of an emergency.
It said Wowowee’s producers also failed to coordinate with local police on crowd control measures.
Justice department officials said the NBI may tap the DILG findings for leads in the separate probe. The DILG report was submitted to the DOJ, which will determine if the show’s organizers should face charges.
"It’s just a report," Zuño explained. "There were no allegations of any offense against anyone."
The report simply narrated what happened at Philsports Arena in Pasig City, where 74 people were killed and hundreds injured in a mad rush for raffle tickets to "Wowowee," which was to hand out big cash prizes on its first anniversary edition last Saturday.
"They mentioned those who may be responsible for the incident. But they did not specify the names of those people, but just their positions," Zuño said.
There should be sworn statements from witnesses and survivors as well as documents proving victims’ wrongful death.
Assistant chief state prosecutor Richard Fadullon said what the NBI should do now is find more concrete evidence of liability on the part of Wowowee’s organizers.
"We cannot base it on what people say, what are the people’s opinions, how the people perceived it to be. People have different opinions," Fadullon explained.
"As far as we are concerned, we can only proceed if there is evidence and without evidence, regardless of what people have to say, we cannot do anything. We need evidence to support the conduct of a preliminary investigation," he said.
Fadullon said the DILG’s fact-finding panel could not be faulted for producing incomplete findings.
"The task force was given 72 hours to come up with its factual findings. I believe that they did their best given the limited time and limited resources that they had. So, it’s not as simple as saying, ‘Sir, there are many people who were killed, there were many who were injured, let’s charge them,’" he said.
"The DOJ’s panel of prosecutors and the NBI can look for other possible angles. But I would say that given the time frame given to them (DILG), it’s comparatively a good report. But as to whether or not it was exhaustive, it is a different story altogether," Fadullon said.
"The statements that our franchise may be revoked has definitely affected our share price," said Marc Nepomuceno, a member of an internal panel created by ABS-CBN to investigate the tragedy.
"Despite our full cooperation, irresponsible statements made by our government officials have caused severe financial and moral damages to ABS-CBN," he added.
The DILG task force head, Interior Undersecretary Marius Corpus, said fans who had lined up for days outside the stadium, were "treated like animals, made to suffer inconveniences and made to fight for raffle tickets."
NTC Commissioner Ronald Solis said government regulators are now reviewing the DILG’s report to determine whether administrative sanctions are warranted. Sanctions range from fines to a suspension or revocation of the authorization of the network to operate.
Solis said the NTC issues all types of authorizations for the television and radio networks to operate and these permits carry certain responsibilities and duties they should comply with.
First Grade Holdings managing director Astro del Castillo said the stampede will definitely impact on the bottomline of ABS-CBN, which has been struggling to recover from financial problems and low ratings.
ABS-CBN may also suffer a backlash from advertisers, Del Castillo said. "This would definitely hurt ABS for quite a time considering the extent of the tragedy, particularly the outburst of public officials. Who would want to be identified with this company. We all know that advertising is the revenue driver of ABS."
Del Castillo quickly added, however, that the company remains an attractive stock market issue given serious efforts to boost its financial standing.
"The company has already restructured itself and has somehow learned to cut its expenses and focused on revenue generation," he said.
He said the incident could also affect the financial performance of the media giant for the first quarter of the year.
However, a lawmaker believes that Congress and not the NTC has the authority to cancel ABS-CBN’s franchise.
"NTC does not have the power to cancel the franchise of ABS-CBN," said Bukidnon Rep. Juan Miguel Zubiri, head of the House of Representatives’ legislative franchises committee.
Zubiri said an executive agency like NTC cannot cancel a congressional franchise, which only the legislature can scrap, suspend or modify for justifiable reasons.
"Even Congress cannot do that, unless the television network or radio station granted a franchise is clearly doing things that incite rebellion or sedition, or foment public disorder or unrest, or otherwise are contrary to public interest," he said.
He suggested that what Solis and his NTC could perhaps do is review if ABS-CBN violated the terms of the permit to operate that the commission gave to the network.
He said besides the franchise, broadcast entities are required to obtain a permit to operate from NTC.
"I suppose that the terms of the permit are a reproduction of the conditions set in the congressional franchise, and therefore, I doubt if they have sufficient basis to suspend or revoke the permit. But that is for them to determine," he added.
Zubiri pointed out that what is obvious to him is that there has been negligence on the part of the event organizers.
"But that is not enough for Congress, even if there is a proper complaint filed, to withdraw the privilege it gave to ABS-CBN," he said.
He likened the case of the TV network to an airline involved in an accident that resulted in the death of some passengers.
"In this hypothetical example, we cannot punish the airline by canceling its franchise, unless it is habitually remiss in discharging its obligations. It would be up for executive agencies to prosecute those responsible for the accident. The same is true with ABS-CBN," he said. — With Zinnia de la Peña, Jess Diaz, AFP