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Thursday, October 16, 2008
Tuba-tuba poisons 24 pupils
CAGAYAN DE ORO -- Twenty-four schoolchildren in Mambajao, Camiguin, who were clearing a road where President Arroyo will pass through, were hospitalized Wednesday after eating fruits of the herbal plant tuba-tuba, an official said.
Rene Alternate, coordinator of the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) in Northern Mindanao, said the students of Baylao Elementary School felt dizzy and vomited after eating the herbal plant.
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Alternate said all were in stable condition and were sent home except for 11 students who are still undergoing medical observation at the Camiguin General Hospital in Mambajao.
The students ate the herbal plant when they got hungry after they finished clearing a three-kilometer stretch of road near the Mambajao Airport where President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is scheduled to arrive this Saturday, according to radio reports.
Reports said it was the barangay officials who requested the school principal to task the schoolchildren to clear the road where the President will pass through this Saturday.
At least 70 schoolchildren participated in the road clearing, the same reports said.
The province of Camiguin is set to open its annual Lanzones Festival on October 18 with President Arroyo as the guest of honor.
Alternate said the children got hungry after finishing their tasks around 11 a.m. and decided to eat the herbal plant.
It was not known why there were no teachers around when the children began eating the herbal plant.
Alternate identified the students still undergoing medical observation in the hospital as Chad Awitin, 11; Jolina Camins, 10; Venus Camins, 11; Arnel Awitin, 10; Ryan Chan, 10; Maryanne Capoti, 10; Nicquel Jean Labi, 10; Nick Amil, 11; Ranolfo Orillo, 10; Adgie Plaminia, 12; and John Tarde, 12.
Tuba-tuba, a member of the coconut family, is not edible. It contains harmful acids that could kill human beings. (Annabelle L. Ricalde/Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro/Sunnex)For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Iloilo. (October 16, 2008 issue)
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