The Bohol Tragedy:
Pesticide Contamination Did It, Doctors Say

The tragic death of 27 schoolchildren in this province on March 9 could not have been caused by the balanghoy (cassava) that they had eaten. The culprit could be a pesticide or insecticide that contaminated the food while it was being cooked, doctors, environmentalists and human rights groups in Bohol said.

By Terence Krishna Lopez
Contributed to Bulatlat

Juvy Tuyogon, 12, did not eat the entire maruya. After a bite, she gave it away because of the bitter taste which saved her from being poisoned Photo by Terence Krishna Lopez

TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol – The tragic death of 27 schoolchildren in this province on March 9 could not have been caused by the balanghoy (cassava) that they had eaten. The culprit could be a pesticide or insecticide that contaminated the food while it was being cooked, doctors, environmentalists and human rights groups here said. One hundred other children from the San Jose Elementary School in Mabini town and the vendor herself who cooked the maruyang balanghoy (a delicacy made of cassava) have also been hospitalized.

Balanghoy or cassava is a dependable crop for the Boholanos – natives of this island province - especially now that there is less harvest of rice and corn. Balanghoy always saves the Boholano family from hunger.

On March 9, Anna Luyong, 68, of San Jose, Mabini town did not believe it when she was told that the maruyang balanghoy she sold at P1 each for the school’s recess had caused many schoolchildren to vomit and suffer stomach pains. Worse, she was told some schoolchildren already died.

To prove that there’s nothing wrong with the maruya, she took a bite too. Now, Luyong remains confined at the Gov. Celestino Gallares Memorial Hospital in this city along with other children who survived. Many other victims were brought to three other hospitals.

Investigation

An investigative mission conducted by various non-government organizations (NGOs) in Bohol, points to another culprit. Based on its own inquiry including interviews with attending physicians, the mission said it was likely the maruya was contaminated with organophosphates or carbamates.

The mission’s Dr. Oliver Gimenez of Visayas Primary Health Care, a community-based health program said “there were symptoms manifested by the victims that were not symptoms of cyanide poisoning such as seizure and salivation.” There was one victim who showed a “pinpoint” pupil – a decrease in the size of the pupil to 1mm.

“These are symptoms of organophosphates or carbamates poisoning,” Dr. Gimenez said. He concluded that cyanide poisoning could not have been as fatal as what actually happened to the children.

Attending physicians also revealed that the young patients were responding to Atropine Sulphate, an antidote for organophosphates.

Organophosphate (OP) compounds or carbamates are a diverse group of chemicals used in both domestic and industrial settings. Examples of OPs include insecticides (malathion, parathion, diazinon, fenthion, dichlorvos, chlorpyrifos), nerve gases (soman, sarin, tabun, VX), ophthalmic agents (echothiophate, isoflurophate), and antihelmintics (trichlorfon). Herbicides (tribufos [DEF], merphos) are tricresyl phosphate–containing industrial chemicals.

Organophosphates can kill a person through his nervous system and the brain.

Nothing wrong

Some residents of San Jose admitted that they ate the same variety of balanghoy (lakan) that the children had eaten on the same day but felt nothing wrong. They suggested that the oil used by Anna Luyong for cooking the maruya could have come from a container of some pesticides.

Toxicologists from the University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital (UP-PGH) who flew to San Jose took the container with the oil used by Luyong as well as samples of the blood and vomit of the patients for tests. Results that may confirm food contamination with organophosphates are now being awaited.

Meanwhile, members of Hugpong sa Mag-uumang Bol-anon (HUMABOL), a peasant organization in Bohol, also expressed their disgust over unfounded reactions pointing to the native cassava as the culprit.

HUMABOL chair William Boybanting said that, “Kinahanglang maipagawas ang kamatuoran ug makalaro nga dili kini tungod sa balanghoy. Niining pamaagi, matagaan og hustisya  ang kamatayon sa mga bata” (The truth will come out and it will clear cassava as not the real cause of the tragedy. This way, justice will be served to the children.)

Boybanting also said that the contamination of organophosphates should be a wake-up call for the province. “This must teach us a lesson, that we are only aware of the dangers of these commercial pesticides when a damage is done. Let the death of the children be not forgotten,” he added.

Ira Pamat, executive director of Kinabuhi (Bohol Network for Life and Environment), said the tragic death of the children should not be taken as just another tragedy Filipinos are used to. “It had to take 28 lives and more than 100 others in danger to make us see the truth that there is a big danger caused by the use of these commercial chemicals in agriculture,” she said.

The Farmers Development Center (FARDEC), on the other hand, called for a stop to the use of commercial pesticides in farming.

Carmelo Tabada, FARDEC Bohol Coordinator, said “It’s high time we all unite in propagate organic methods and finally act against these commercial pesticides. The natural way of farming is always safer and even more sustainable.”

Tabada added that commercial pesticides promoted mostly by multi-national corporations do not at all benefit the farmers and the ecosystem.

As of now, FARDEC and KINABUHI are working with HUMABOL in a fund drive for the victims of the tragedy and for the recovery of the survivors.

Loss of angels, loss future

The March 9 tragedy is the first in the history of Bohol or even the country. On this note, Lisa Serenio, secretary general of the human rights alliance Karapatan in Bohol, said “The death of the little angels must move us into advancing children’s rights and the protection of these, and ensuring their safety. They are our future; the death of the 27 children means loss of a part of our future.” Bulatlat

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