QUEZON CITY — The Filipino nation was still ecstatic with the triumphant return of boxing champ Manny Pacquiao when tragedy struck in the morning of Feb. 4 with scores of impoverished people trampled to death following a stampede as they waited to get inside a Pasig City arena in hopes of winning cash prizes of as much as one million pesos ($19,230) or a fully furnished house at the first anniversary of the wildly popular TV game show “Wowowee.”

Seventy-four people were killed — many of them elderly women — and over 600 injured when a huge crowd pushed and surged toward the entrance gate of Philsports Arena (formerly ULTRA) to get raffle tickets and seats in the show. About 300,000 people camped outside the 19,000-capacity arena, with many as early as Feb. 1.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Sunday promised those found liable would be prosecuted and punished, as investigation started shortly after the disaster, focusing on critical security lapses in organizing the event.

“Wowowee” is seen across the United States and the globe via ABS-CBN’s The Filipino Channel. It is hosted by comedian Willie Revillame, who last month was named Philippine Tourism Ambassador based largely on the popularity of his show among Filipinos worldwide.

The show has become a tourist destination for balikbayans who appear on the live show and donate dollars, which Revillame and the show use or add to the prizes they regularly offer to hundreds who pack the ABS-CBN studio Monday to Friday.

In December, Filipino Reporter’s advertising executive Albert Ignacio and his family watched the show live, along with Philippine Star’s Ricky Lo.

“It was pure fun and entertainment, and there were no pretensions whatsoever,” observed Ignacio. “People, many of them obviously poor, enjoy the show as they get the chance to win cash prizes.”

“It’s hard to think that something like this could happen,” he added.

Another Fil-Am balikbayan, Brenda Baranquil, said thousands of people were already lined up when she got outside the arena last Thursday, a day after arriving from Los Angeles to visit her ailing mother.

“I knew it was a time bomb ready to explode,” she told the Associated Press, citing the lack of police officers to manage the crowd.

Revillame, along with his female co-hosts, and ABS-CBN executives Gabby Lopez and Charo Santos, expressed regret and vowed that the giant network will cooperate in the probe and that “we will give all needed help and support to the wounded and the families of the dead victims.”

“All we wanted was entertainment and at the same time give hope and help to our poor kababayans,” said a weeping Revillame in Tagalog. “Not in a million years would we dream that this kind of disaster will happen.”

While fans and supporters stand behind the show and its host, critics were quick to condemn the game show allegedly for exploiting the impoverished state of its viewing market by offering them dreams of instant money.

Government investigators, led by Interior Undersecretary Marius Corpus, said ABS-CBN had failed to prepare an adequate plan to deal with huge crowds.

ABS-CBN assistant vice president for security Rene Luso admitted to investigators during a live broadcast that the network had expected a crowd of about 25,000 — far beyond the arena’s 19,000 capacity.

Luspo, according to AP, also admitted not having a contingency measure for a possible stampede or riot.

Some survivors said the rush of the crowd was caused by reports that only the first 300 people were eligible to play games in which they could win up to one million pesos in cash or a fully furnished house.

“People at the back of the line were pushing, not knowing there were already people dead lying on the ground in front,” said Merquieades Salazar, 45, as he cried over the body of his wife who was among the dead.  

“In our desire to win money, I lost my wife,” he said. The couple was jobless and wanted to try their luck at winning the jackpot.

Leny Subayco, 35, said she and others were pressed against the gate of the arena as people fell on top of one another. She said she lost consciousness and when she recovered, she found herself pinned underneath dead bodies.

“Under me was a dead person, beside me there was another dead and there was another dead above me,” she told reporters.