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DepEd to probe food poisoning of 94 learners, teachers in Mindoro
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At a press briefing, DepEd spokesperson Michael Poa said they will carefully look into the incident, in which a vendor reportedly entered the school premises to sell spring rolls and turon to learners and teachers on Monday (Oct. 10). (File Photo By Patrick Roque/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0)
MANILA – The Department of Education (DepEd) said Tuesday it will probe the food poisoning of 88 learners and at least six teachers in a school in Occidental Mindoro.
At a press briefing, DepEd spokesperson Michael Poa said they will carefully look into the incident, in which a vendor reportedly entered the school premises to sell spring rolls and turon to learners and teachers on Monday (Oct. 10).
“Maglulunsad din po tayo ng investigation sa nangyari na ‘yan, dahil ayon po sa Department Order 8, series of 2007, hindi po tayo dapat pumapayag na may outside vendors na pumapasok sa ating mga paaralan, para magbenta ng pagkain (We will launch an investigation because according to DO 8, s. 2007, we should not permit outside vendors to enter school premises to sell food),” he said.
“So, may mga learners at teachers na bumili. Siyempre ‘yung learner na bumili, shinare naman dun sa kaklase. So ang nangyari po, around 88 learners were affected, nagkaroon daw ng food poisoning (So, there are learners and teachers who bought. Of course, the learners who bought the food, shared them to their classmates. Around 88 learners were affected by the reported food poisoning),” Poa added.
After being checked up by school division nurses, the affected learners and teachers were then sent to local hospitals.
“Tayo naman po ay tumugon agad, nung makakuha tayo ng balita, covering 88 learners and six teachers. Nagpadala po kaagad ang ating divisions office ng ating district nurses, dineploy sila (We immediately responded when we received the report, covering 88 learners and six teachers. Our division office immediately sent our district nurses and deployed them),” he said.
DO 8 prohibits the selling by outside vendors inside school premises to ensure the “safety and health” of learners, only allowing children to buy food inside school canteens, which are subject to the local government’s sanitary and health permit requirements.
“Bawal talaga siya, in all DepEd schools, bawal siya. Bawal pumasok ‘yung vendor sa loob ng schools (It is prohibited, in all DepEd schools. It’s not allowed, vendors are not allowed to enter schools),” Poa said.
However, Poa clarified that they have yet to determine if the school could be held accountable for the incident pending the outcome of the investigation. Results of the testing done on the food samples have yet to be released.
The DepEd, meanwhile, thanked the local government unit for covering the hospital expenses of the affected learners and teachers.