Willie N Ng
LOOKING at the NBI list of ABS-CBN officers recommended to be charged for the Feb. 4 "Wowowee’’ stampede that killed over 70 persons, one would notice that the investigators adopted the military principle of chain of command and command responsibility.
Meaning to say, first pin the blame on the foot soldier, then tie in the officer in each succeeding rank until the top is reached.
The NBI started with the assistant directors and producers, then advanced to the full-fledged ones, and finally to Executive Vice President Charo Santos-Concio. Emcee Willie Revillame was not spared.
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The day after, Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez said he might also charge ABS-CBN Chairman Gabby Lopez, declaring that "under the law, owners are generally liable for acts committed by their employees.’’ With that, the chain would be complete.
A prominent lawyer said he was amazed at this application of the chain of command principle. "This means, for instance, that owners of transport companies from shipping firms to airlines can be charged in accidents,’’ he said.
He said that in civil law, the only thing that looks like the chain of command is the relationship between a chauffeur and the car owner. In an accident, the owner is liable for damages.
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Another hotshot lawyer noticed that the NBI left the police out of the charge sheet.
For five days, the crowds at Philsports urinated and defecated in the streets. They scattered left-over food and plastic bags all over the place. Where were the peace and order officers?
"And if one is looking for the so-called proximate cause, why not charge those unruly elements who started the stampede by shoving the people in front of them and eventually stomping on them?’’ he asked. Did the NBI look at the TV footage taken during the stampede?
Last but not least, the crowd was estimated to be upwards of 35,000. Usually crowd estimates are hugely inflated. Did the NBI accept that estimate?
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