At least 100 elementary students were hospitalized on Thursday morning due to alleged food poisoning in a public school in Makati City.
No one was in critical condition but according to city chief information officer Gilbert delos Reyes, the students from Grade 4 to Grade 6 of Pio del Pilar Elementary School were brought to the Ospital ng Makati and the Palanan Health Center after suffering from abdominal pains.
The incident happened around 9:30 a.m. during recess.
Osmak attending physician Janina Bianca Ortiz said they have yet to identify the food or liquid that caused discomfort to the students.
Ortiz said most students ate biscuits at the canteen but she could not say whether the snack poisoned them. She added they already took samples of the food and liquid taken by the students to determine the cause of food poisoning.
Acting Mayor Romulo Peña Jr. went to OsMak and assured the parents of the students that the city government would shoulder the hospital expenses. He ordered the Makati Health Department and the Makati Police Department to conduct a joint investigation on the incident.
“We deeply regret the food poisoning incident earlier today in Pio del Pilar Elementary School that has caused at least 100 students to fall ill after reportedly ingesting snack foods sold by the school canteen,” said Peña in a statement.
“I have personally checked on the condition of the victims who were brought to Palanan Health Center and to Ospital ng Makati for immediate treatment. I am assuring their parents that the city government will shoulder the costs of their treatment and management until they have fully recovered.”
“The public may rest assured that the city government will do its best to prevent a repeat of the unfortunate incident.”
Environmental group Ecowaste Coalition recently urged the Department of Education to review its food safety guidelines in schools to prevent incidents of food poisoning.
“To address this alarming wave of food poisoning episodes involving young children in public elementary schools, we urge the Department of Education to update its current food safety guidelines in line with Republic Act 10611 and to conduct mass food safety awareness programs in coordination with other national government agencies and with local government units, barangay councils and parent-teacher associations,” said Sonia Mendoza, Ecowaste president.
The Food Safety Act of 2013 seeks to strengthen the food safety regulatory system in the Philippines in order to, among other objectives, “protect the public from food-borne and water-borne illnesses and unsanitary, unwholesome, misbranded or adulterated foods.”
The law’s Implementing Rules and Regulations were adopted in February 2015.
“As we wait for the issuance of strengthened DepEd’s food safety regulations and guidelines, we appeal to food business operators, consignees and vendors to stick to basic food safety rules and prevent food poisoning events from happening again,” Mendoza said.