Contaminated drink blamed for Vizcaya students' death

BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines – A contaminated soft drink had been pointed as the cause of death of four male secondary public school students in northwestern Villaverde town here Wednesday.

Authorities said the victims, Severino Quiyod, 16; Jefferson Retorio, 16; Rommel Dacusin, 18; and Joani Molina, 20; all third year high school students of Villaverde’s Bintawan National High School, have died of poisoning reportedly after consuming the soft drink, of which one of them had reportedly spiked with still undetermined white powder substance.

“We have already submitted for laboratory test the water residue, (suspected) to be a leftover of the contaminated soft drink taken by the victims, to determine the kind of substance that was mixed with the beverage,” said Villaverde police chief Inspector Noel Libunao.

The violet-colored residue was inside a small plastic sachet usually used for homemade ice, which police recovered inside the victims’ classrooms after they were rushed to a hospital after showing signs of restlessness and frothing from their mouths. 

The victims succumbed to poisoning one after the other while doctors tried to save them with, Quiyod, the first to be declared dead and the others dying at intervals of about 30 minutes from each other.

“They were weak. They could no longer speak out. Their eyes were partially closed while bubbles started to come out of their mouths when they were brought to the school clinic. We immediately rushed the students to (the hospital) after first aid given to them failed to improve their condition,” said school nurse Rosy Dacumos.

Dacumos also cleared the school of offering or selling unsafe food or questionable substance.

“We are very strict about such things, especially food items being sold to students. We ban all unhealthy food inside the school premises,” she said. 

Meanwhile, the Department of Education’s division office here had already requested an autopsy for the victims to determine their cause of death and also asked the police for investigation.