CEBU, Philippines - A text message warning that the radiation from a nuclear power plant in Japan will reach the Philippines yesterday afternoon has caused panic among Filipinos, resulting to unauthorized suspension of classes in some private schools in Cebu and universities in Manila while parents trooped to fetch their children from school.
People also flocked to the drugstores to buy Betadine solution as the hoax text message advises to “swab neck skin” with the solution to protect the thyroid from radiation.
Over exposure to radiation causes skin burns, impotence and increased the person’s risk of having thyroid cancer.
The hoax text message which spread like virus says: “Japan Government confirms radiation leak at Fukushima nuclear plants. Asian countries should take necessary precautions. Remain indoors first 24 hours. Close doors and windows. Swab neck skin with Betadine where thyroid area is, radiation hits thyroid first. Take extra precaution, radiation may hit the Philippines starting 4 pm today.”
Malacañang dismissed the proliferating text messages and urged the public to stay calm.
“There’s no need to panic. I’m aware that there are text messages going around that are very alarming. There’s no truth to that,” said Secretary Ricky Carandang of the Presidential Communications Group.
“ We are following the wind patterns over the weekend and it seem to be moving toward the east—towards the Pacific Ocean—not towards us. So there’s no truth to those text messages,” he added.
But despite the government’s assurance several people insisted to take the precautionary measures based on the hoax text message.
In fact, several drug stores in Cebu reported an increase in sales of Betadine solutions yesterday. Ching Pharmacy on Magallanes said it was able to dispose 200 bottles of Betadine when the hoax message started to spread. This is double their usual sales during ordinary days.
Universe Pharmacy also recorded slight increase in their sales. The Three Sixty Pharmacy pulled out additional supply from their warehouse in anticipation of the increase in demand for betadine solutions.
Some drug stores though like Mercury Drug and Cashmer Pharmacy said that there was no increase in their sales.
Department of Education-7 director Recaredo Borgonia said they did not order a suspension of classes because their central office in Manila said the text message was not true.
“False alarm. There was no suspension of class,” Borgonia told The Freeman.
DepEd Cebu provincial superintendent Arden Monisit said that suspension of classes in schools, if there was any, were unauthorized.
Monisit confirmed that he received information about some private schools suspending their classes due to the radiation threat.
The Polytechnic University of the Philippines in Manila suspended the classes of all its campuses at 2:00 p.m. yesterday.
While school officials admitted that the reports are still to be verified, they said they are “not willing to take the risk”.
In a statement, PUP president Dante Guevarra explained that the suspension of classes in all PUP campuses was in order to appease the parents who were calling the university on the conditions of their children.
He said the decision has nothing to do with the “text scare”, but a simple concern on the welfare of its 65,000 students.
“The action can also eliminate any further fear and stress that can be associated with the university’s proximity at Pandacan Oil Depot that sometimes emits toxic gases,” he added.
The Department of Science and Technology issued an advisory telling the public not to believe in hoax messages.
DOST Secretary Mario Montejo said the level of radiation in the country has remained stable since the Fukushima incident in Japan which means, as of the moment, there are no immediate effects of the Fukushima nuclear power plant explosion to the Philippines.
“The advice that people should stay indoors and to wear raincoats if they go outdoors did not come from DOST or any agency member of the NDCC (National Disaster Coordinating Council). DOST emphasizes that there is no immediate danger of nuclear radiation in the Philippines.” Montejo said.
The department explained that Japan as of this writing was on Alert Level No. 4 which means that there is no immediate off-site threat of nuclear radiation.
The DOST is also closely monitoring developments through its 24-hour link up with the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Neil Sanchez, operation officer of the Office of the Civil Defense advised the public to exercise prudence in forwarding text messages because it will only create panic among residents.
Sanchez said the Department of Health is also monitoring the environment every four hours while updates from the International Atomic Energy Agency will be released every six hours.
The Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) also assured that winds from Japan are not headed toward the country but the other way around. — with Ria Mae Y. Booc/FPL (FREEMAN NEWS)