Closing The Gates

Today is the official opening of the Palarong Pambansa 2013 which is held in Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental. More than 25,000 athletes from all over the Philippines are currently packed in this 3,426-hectare  city, not including the coaches, chaperons, sports officials, tourists, and the entrepreneurs (souvenir shirts, anyone?). And don't forget the 120,883 residents in Dumaguete City as well as the people from the neighboring municipalities.

The entire city is crowded. And with the opening of the national games, almost everyone were out in the streets to witness the parade. While most people stayed in the streets, a huge number were milling towards Don Mariano Perdices Memorial Coliseum where the opening ceremonies was held after the parade. The coliseum has a seating capacity of 25,000. Obviously, there were more than 25,000 spectators. For safety purposes, the gates were close when the coliseum was filled to the brim, so to speak.

However, there were people who seemed to not understand the reason behind this. I witnessed some of them argued with the police officers manning the gates. "This gate is for the public!", "Ang pangit ng palaro ninyo sa Dumaguete!", "Kaninang maaraw nagpapasok, ngayong wala ng araw, ayaw na." I even saw one girl video-recorded the police officer who, in a loud voice, repeatedly explained to the crowd that the coliseum was already full and for safety reasons, entrances were all ready closed.

Hello?! Wala na nga pong puwesto sa loob! Hindi na po kasya. Ipagpilitan ba ang gusto kahit hindi na puwede? Seriously, ma'ams and sirs, if you really have wanted to watch the ceremony, you could have come earlier. You should have anticipated that you and your group were not the only people who would want to witness the ceremony. If you want to blame someone for your failure to get inside the coliseum, then blame yourselves. 'Wag niyo isisi sa Dumaguete City Government. 'Wag niyo rin isisi sa mga police officers at security personnel. They're just doing their jobs and that's to make sure that everybody inside that coliseum is safe. Kahit saang anggulo pa tingnan, hindi talaga safe na magpapasok pa ng tao kahit puno na. So what kung willing kayong tumayo lang. Parang barko lang 'yan na nag-overloading. Sobrang delikado.

Ang nakakainis lang, marami ang hindi marunong umintindi. Ipagpalagay nating pinapasok kayo at may nangyaring hindi maganda. Biglang bumigay yung railings o di kaya yung mismong kintatayuan niyo. Sisisihin niyo ba ang sarili niyo sa pagpupumilit niyong pumasok kahit di na mahulugang-karayom ang lugar in the first place? Malamang, hindi. Malamang may genius na naman na magko-comment how safety should have been ensured, na hindi dapat hinayaan ang ganoon kadaming tao sa ganoon kaliit na lugar.

Kaya nga sinara na ang mga gates, di ba? It's crowd control. It's for everybody's safety. Safety niyo na nga ang isinasaalang-alang, kayo pa ang galit. Ewan ko lang sa inyo.