POLICE said there was no stampede that occurred in Mango Avenue during the celebration of the Sinulog last Sunday evening, despite the claims of some revelers.
Chief Supt. Manuel Gaerlan, acting regional director of the Police Regional Office Central Visayas (PRO-7) told reporters early today that the crowd turned unruly since most of them were drunk.
“I would not say stampede, there was no stampede. There were some unruly behavior from the crowd but we were able to contain them,” Gaerlan said.
There were photos posted online of revelers rushed to a hospital for minor injuries that were accompanied by captions claiming that a stampede took place along a bookstore in Mango avenue.
“When you say stampede, masyadong malawak yun (it has bigger scope). With our timely police deployment, we were able to contain them, ” he said.
Gaerlan admitted during today’s press briefing that he was dissatisfied by the performance of his police force due to lack of supervision by his junior policemen.
“Let’s just say, some of my junior police officers have received some beating,” he said.
Weeks before the Sinulog weekend, the organizing committee issued a statement calling for a ban on street parties especially on the Sinulog weekend.
But Gaerlan said, though there was a “ban,” the police can only discourage revelers in proceeding to the Mango Avenue area, which got overcrowded.
“There’s no curfew hour, there is no legal basis to prevent these people from roaming around the streets,” he said.
Some Netizens blamed motorists who passed by Mango Avenue as having caused the congestion as they claimed that the area was supposed to be closed to traffic. Some of the parties held in the Mango area were the Invasion in Fooda, Sinulog Royals in Century Plaza and Sensation in Alchology.