Opposition asks for parliamentary probe into Itaewon tragedy

• Published date: 09 November 2022
• Publication title: Philippines News agency

The main opposition Democratic Party (DP) and two minor progressive parties submitted a joint request Wednesday for a parliamentary investigation into the Itaewon crowd crush despite opposition from the ruling party.

The DP, the Justice Party (JP) and the Basic Income Party submitted the request to the National Assembly's Bills Division on Wednesday afternoon, with an aim to have the request reported at a parliamentary plenary session scheduled for Thursday.

"We should clearly determine where the responsibility lies and come up with measures to prevent a recurrence by looking thoroughly into the accident, including its cause and measures taken before or after the tragedy," the parties said in the request sponsored by 181 lawmakers.

The parties called for forming an 18-member special committee to oversee the probe and look into whether measures by government agencies were appropriate and whether there were attempts to minimize or cover up the tragedy.

Once the request is reported at a plenary session, the National Assembly speaker can form a special committee in charge of a probe through discussions with party leaders.

The committee is then required to come up with an investigation plan that should be approved at a plenary session.

The three parties plan to approve the investigation plan on Nov. 24.

Opposition parties have been pushing to launch the parliamentary investigation, accusing the government of mishandling the tragedy following revelations that the police snubbed a series of emergency calls warning against overcrowding in Itaewon that day.

The crowd surge killed at least 156 Halloween partygoers in Seoul's entertainment district of Itaewon on Oct. 29, marking the nation's worst disaster since the 2014 Sewol ferry sinking that killed 304...