DAVAO CITY – Following the food poisoning of 37 delegates to the Davao Regional Athletic Association (DAVRAA) Saturday, the Department of Education (DepEd) XI has directed all delegations in-charge of food to observe proper food handling and sanitation.
DepEd 11 spokesperson Jenielito Atillo said Regional Director Alberto Escobarte issued the directive to remind the food in-charge of each delegation on proper food preparation for the athletes.
“All the food in-charge should really be circumspect in handling food,” he said.
Atillo said the directive also included the inspection of the billeting quarters which would be headed by the food in-charge from DepEd office to check mess halls and kitchens to ensure that proper sanitation in cooking food is followed.
“This is to remind them of their critical responsibility because these are food,” he said. Aside from the 37 delegates of Mati City, DepEd also received reports about stomach pain and vomiting of 93 members of Tagum City delegation.
Atillo, however, denied there were 93 who experienced stomach pains and vomiting but only 32 who were rushed to Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC ).
“We based our records on the admitted list at the Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC) and it was stated that only 32 were brought there,” he said.
If the report was true that there were over 90 members from Tagum City delegation, Atillo believed the athletes were treated inside their billeting quarters since there was a standby medical team from Central 911.
He said 31 of the athletes were immediately discharged after they were treated in the hospital.
“Maliban sa Tagum (City), naa pud tay reported nga cases from Davao del Norte nga adunay unom kabuok, Mating City usa, Comval (Compostela Valley) usa, Davao Oriental walo og dunay usa Ka coach nga wala pa nato makompirma kung asa nga delegation siya (Aside from Tagum City, we have same cases reported in Davao del Norte which has six, Mati City has one, Compostela Valley has one, Davao Oriental has eight and a coach who is not yet identified from which delegation he comes from), ” he said.
Atillo could not confirm if these people were brought to the hospital for immediate treatment. He said they might have been treated in their billeting quarters as those affected may have not required serious medical assistance.
He said DepEd 11 could not confirm what caused the stomach pains and vomiting.
“Our City Health Office (CHO) headed by Dr. Josephine Villfuerte is the only one who has the authority to conduct investigation on that matter,” he said.
Meanwhile, the CHO bared that the cause of severe diarrhea experienced by the 38 members of the delegation of Mati City was due to the intake of left over foods.
“They cooked plenty of rice pero wala man nakaon, so giluto nila pagabuntag, gi-fried rice, gikaon sa uban (They cooked plenty of rice that evening but they did not consume it, so they re-heated it, fried it and ate it),” he said.
According to the people who were admitted for medical attention, after they ate the rice, their stomachs reacted but thought it was normal, Villafuerte said.
“Nagkaroon din sila ng corned beef na binaon din ng mga naglaro. So, siyempre mula anong oras siya niluto tapos nagkain sila ano ng oras tapos mahabang panahon na naka-packed ang pagkain tapos mainit ang panahon (They also cooked corned beef, brought it to the event areas and ate it after playing. Of course they cooked it earlier but consumed it after a long time. The food had been packed for a long time and the weather was hot ),” he stressed.
Villafuerte, however, assured the public that the affected athletes can still play as soon as they are discharged. (Armando Fenequito Jr/PNA)
