Spoiled food also downed 8 jail guards

Friday, December 17, 2010

THE Davao City Government clarified Friday that there weren't only 781 persons who suffered from food poisoning Tuesday night, but 797.

City Information Officer Bong Aportadera said the 797 include 789 inmates and eight jail personnel.

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The 797 suffered from loose bowel movement (LBM) after eating a food pack of fried chicken, gravy, pansit (fried noodles), and rice served by the City Government during the "Pasko Fiesta sa City Jail" on Tuesday.

Aportadera, however, said that as of Thursday night, all those who suffered from LBM were cured.

"According to (Dr. Josephine Villafuerte), as far as the welfare of the inmates are concerned, contained na. Wala nang sumasakit ang tiyan, tapos na," Aportadera said in a phone interview.

He said the City Health Office (CHO) has yet to submit to the Office of the City Mayor its extensive health report on the matter.

At present, the information given by the CHO leans on the possibility that the food poisoning may have happened because the inmates consumed their food in the evening when these were intended for lunch.

"The inmates consumed the food packs gabi na when it was supposed to be consumed for lunch. Na-prepare ito Tuesday morning," Aportadera said.

The question, however, remains who was the government official behind Pasko Fiesta sa City Jail as Aportadera was unable to disclose this.

General Services Office (GSO) chief Jessie Marvin Melodias said no transaction of food packs for "Pasko Fiesta sa City Jail" went through his office.

"It never passed through the usual or the required process. I told you, I really don’t know if this is proper but I just want you to make it very clear. This is a personal note on my end," Melodias said Thursday.

In a text message on Thursday, Duterte identified the caterer as Ritchie Kearns, confirming that there was no accreditation given to Kearns as the caterer.

The mayor banned Kearns from providing further service to the City Hall.

She also demanded that Kearns guarantee for the food and comply with health office's medical requirements.

She has also instructed the City Mayor's Office not to pay Kearns until the requirements have been delivered.

The mayor said the she has required the CHO to investigate the matter.

Melodias said the government official in charge of "Pasko Fiesta sa City Jail" should also be held liable.

Bypassed

"This transaction bypassed the General Services Office. I'm not saying that this was illegal but the fact is it did not go through procedure. There can be different types of transactions, it can be oral or written but it can only be enforceable if it’s written. The parties are safely within a contract," he said.

"The caterer, if (he) would have wanted the transaction enforceable then (he) should have preferred that it be in writing," Melodias added.

An interview with the city mayor proved futile as of Friday.

Not deliberate

City Mayor Duterte said the incident did not anger her as "it was not deliberate."

"The cause (of the food poisoning) was the late consumption of the food. Did the incident anger (me)? No. It was not deliberate," Duterte said.

Aportadera also said there would be no changes on the city's delivery of Pasko Fiesta sa City Jail next year as the event has been observed for years.

"Of course. Nobody wanted it to happen naman. I'm sure the caterer also did not want that to happen. The CHO has said naman that there was no problem with the food preparation but the cause was that the food was not consumed immediately," he pointed out.