3 kids hurt in brief stampede at Cebu Sinulog fest

At least three children were injured in a brief stampede that marred an otherwise solemn celebration of the feast of the Santo Niño (Christ Child) in Cebu Sunday afternoon. Sun-Star Cebu (sunstar.com.ph) reported Monday that the police found no explosives at the scene, and believed the stampede may have stemmed from a firecracker explosion. The unidentified children were described to be aged 3, 7, and 9. They were taken to the Perpetual Succor Hospital for minor injuries. The report said the incident occurred at about 2:19 p.m. at the Basilica del Santo Niño compound, hours after Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal called for peace in the name of the Christ Child. Vidal also reiterated his call for “cha-cha" or character change, and for peacemaking, during his homily at the Pontifical Mass for the 441st Fiesta Señor. “In this year of social concerns, how busy are we? How serious are we in our business as we go on living a spirituality full of stewardship, as we move on toward a future of peace anchored on truth, justice and freedom?" he said. People shoved and pushed their way into the Pilgrim Center as early as 3 a.m. but this did not lessen the solemnity of the occasion, with people waving their hands while singing “Bato Balani sa Gugma" and cheering “Viva, Pit Señor!" Cebu acting police chief Sr. Supt. Patrocinio Comendador said the explosion that caused the stampede likely came from a firecracker and not from a bomb. The police had earlier received a tip through its hotline 166 was that the incident stemmed from a gang war, but the information turned out to be proved false. Meanwhile, at least three officials said to be running for the Senate this May were seen at the Sinulog festival, at the Cebu City Sports Center. These included presidential chief of staff Michael Defensor, Ilocos Sur governor Luis Singson, and Bukidnon Rep. Miguel Zubiri. All three are said to be eyeing a Senate seat. Defensor said he has helped some 25,000 to 30,000 people in Cebu who were beneficiaries of government lands here that were identified as socialized housing sites. He said he expects a relatively easy time in Cebu, considering they are affiliated with President Arroyo’s party, and Arroyo won there. Singson promised to push for decentralization to empower local government units further. Zubiri said he sponsored the Biofuels Act. The police said about 800,000 gathered along the carousel route but said the fiesta crowd “easily numbered" around two million people. Comendador said that as of 7 p.m. Sunday, no major incident occurred, making the Sinulog generally peaceful. But while there were more soldiers, policemen and volunteers on the road, they had trouble asking spectators to stay away from the streets where dancers were going to perform. Many spectators kept crossing the street while product endorsers kept tossing freebies, including junk food, noodles, T-shirts, bottled iced tea, at the crowd. - GMANews.TV