Two die in stampede near Estrada's office

Two die in stampede near Estrada's office

MANILA (AP): Men breaking into line set off a stampede yesterday at a presidential office that offers jobs and help for the poor, killing at least two people and injuring dozens, authorities and witnesses said.

The staff at the Jose Reyes Memorial Medical Center said two women died on arrival at the emergency room and two elderly women have been hospitalized for bruises and cuts.

Dozens of people were hurt in the stampede. Umbrellas, slippers, thermos bottles, towels and other personal belongings littered the street after the melee.

President Joseph Estrada directed officials to check hospitals to make sure those injured are properly cared for, presidential spokesman Fernando Barican said.

Estrada, who was surprised and saddened by the stampede, has ordered a review of the security procedures to prevent a recurrence, he said. "This is the problem of trying to provide both openness and access and at the same time providing a more orderly system to have access," Barican said.

Ana Turla, a 29-year-old unemployed resident of suburban Malabon, said the stampede occurred around 8 a.m. (0000 GMT) as hundreds rushed through the gates to the Presidential Action Center.

She said she was in a line for women with her sister and her sister's sister-in-law and 64-year-old mother-in-law when a group of men broke out of their own line and pushed people in front of the gate, setting off the stampede.

"All we were thinking of was saving the old woman," she said. The Presidential Action Center was established soon after Estrada took office on June 30.

Since then, thousands of poor people hoping to get jobs, free housing, legal and medical assistance have flocked to the center near the Malacanang presidential palace.

They are asked to fill forms to write down what they want from the Estrada government.

Turla, who wants a house for her sickly mother, said they have been waiting for the forms since 9 p.m. Friday (1300 GMT). The waiting crowd swelled to several thousands by daybreak.

"I don't think the president will make promises he cannot fulfill," she said.

Estrada, a college drop-out and former actor, won the May 11 election on a pro-poor platform.