This story
was taken from Bulatlat, the Philippines's alternative weekly
newsmagazine (www.bulatlat.com, www.bulatlat.net, www.bulatlat.org).
Vol. V, No. 6, March 13-19, 2005
On the March 9 Mabini tragedy Since time
immemorial, balanghoy or cassava has always been a dependable food for
the Boholanos especially in hard times. Now, after the tragedy that happened in
Mabini on that dreadful morning of March 9, balanghoy has been maligned
publicly- that its cyanide content caused the death of 30 students and
hospitalization of more than 100 others of San Jose Elementary School in Mabini,
Bohol. The different
organizations that conducted an investigative mission on March 10, however,
think otherwise. Instead, the investigative mission spearheaded by Hugpong sa
Mag-uumang Bol-anon (HUMABOL), Farmer’s Development Center (FARDEC),
Environmental Legal Assistance Center (ELAC), Bohol Nature Conservation Society
(BONACONSO), KINABUHI (Central Visayas People’s Network for Life and
Environment) and the Visayas Primary Health Care Services Inc. (VPHCSI) has
found the possibility of organophosphate or carbamates poisoning based on data
gathered. Organophosphate and
carbamates are groups of pesticides of nerve-gas type whose mode of action is
through the nervous system and the brain. The team came up with
this after finding out that the students who ate maruya, a food made of
cassava sold during the break time of the school’s morning session immediately
manifested varied symptoms such as dizziness, abdominal pains, vomiting,
salivation, headaches, convulsion, loss of consciousness, involuntary urination
and diarrhea. According to the
different attending physicians in hospitals where the victims were admitted, the
clinical manifestations of some patients do not correlate with cyanide poisoning
alone. Signs of Organophosphate or carbamates poisoning were present such as the
salivation, seizure and involuntary urination and bowel movement. Moreover, Dr. Oliver
Gimenez of VPHCS has seen a patient in Governor Celestino Gallares Memorial
Hospital who exhibited a “pinpoint” eye pupil. “ That is definitely not a
symptom of cyanide poisoning but that of organophospahate,” Dr. Gimenez
explained. Furthermore, not a
page in history will show of such a fatal phenomenon caused by cassava
poisoning. In fact, not a victim of cassava poisoning has died instantly like
that of the children in Mabini. Residents ate the
same balanghoy, but are not affected. According to some
residents interviewed, they ate the same balanghoy identified as lakan
but did not feel anything wrong. Instead, they insisted that it must be the
container of the oil used for cooking the maruya that contaminated the
food. Results of the
pesticide analysis on oil, the blood samples and vomit of the patients are yet
to be seen. Zenaida Darunday of
BONACONSO explained that, “the most definite way of identifying the
organophosphate or carbamates poisoning is through knowing that there is a
lowering of cholinesterase level in the blood of the patients.” Cholinesterase
is an enzyme essential to the function of the brain. If it reduces, the nervous
system and the brain will surely be affected. Lost Children, lost
future The tragic death of
the 30 children in Mabini will surely be written down in history. We should all
take the lessons it has given us. It should be a
red-signal for all of us. Because of the carelessness and the existence of
substances that endanger everybody including the ecosystem, we have lost a part
of our future. We should not allow this to happen again. The possibility of
organophosphate or carbamates poisoning in the patients means that there is a
use of such lethal pesticides in the barrio. Furthermore, William
Boybanting, Chairman of HUMABOL calls on the provincial government of Bohol to
give justice to the death of the children. He said that, “Kinahanglang
matagaan og hustisya ang kamatayon sa mga kabataan pinaagi sa pagpatin-aw nga
dili ang balanghoy ang hinungdan sa maong trahedya ug ang panaghiusa sa pagbatok
niining mga pestisidyo nga kuyanap karon sa lokalidad” (The death of the
children must be given justice by clearing up that cassava is not the cause of
the tragedy and by uniting against the use of commercial pesticides that are now
rampant in the locality). As an alternative,
the team calls on the government to come up with an agricultural development
framework that is sustainable. This means agricultural framework that does not
use commercial chemicals and is safer for the public’s health- organic farming
that is. Clearly, balanghoy
is not the culprit in the March 10 tragedy. In fact, as these times are getting
harder, balanghoy remains to be a dependable food to help us get through
each day. Reference: Dr. Oliver Gimenez March 11, 2005 © 2004 Bulatlat
■
Alipato Publications Permission is granted to reprint or redistribute this article, provided its author/s and Bulatlat are properly credited and notified.
NGOs: Cassava IS NOT the
Culprit
VPHCS
Contact nos.09205496031 / 0385015538