DepEd suspends milk feeding program

The Department of Education (DepEd) suspended yesterday its nationwide milk feeding program pending the results of the investigation into the poisoning of pupils of three schools in Minalin, Pampanga the other day.

This developed as Senate President Franklin Drilon issued a public apology yesterday to the parents of the affected children. He and his wife launched the program in 1996.

"It’s unfortunate that this thing happened," he said. The milk cartons are emblazoned with his name.

Drilon said the program has been a success and that in many schools, "the absentee rate goes down...because the schoolchildren from very poor families look forward to the feeding program as an incentive for attending classes."

In a statement, the department said it has directed health personnel to visit the program’s 105 other recipient schools to check the safety of the chocolate milk packs.

It is also coordinating with the health department for the laboratory analysis of the milk samples taken from Minalin.

Initial investigation, the department said, showed that the milk packs delivered to its central office had an October 2002 expiration date.

Alaska Milk Corp. (AMC) won the public bidding in November 2001 to supply the milk.

The company, in a statement yesterday, said the milk products it delivered to DepEd were "in order and good quality."

Santiago Polido, AMC’s corporate affairs director, said the quality assurance team sent to Pampanga reported that "none of the inspected products were found to be defective."

Aside from field tests, Polido said team members also conducted random testing on the spot in front of school officials and teachers "and nothing untoward was found."

"We reviewed all aspects of our involvement and we found that there was nothing wrong with the products delivered under the program. From production to storage to handling to the time they were delivered to (DepEd), the products were in good order," Polido said.

The milk products, he said, were delivered last Feb. 2. AMC is doing more tests "to determine beyond doubt the integrity of its products," he added.

The affected children, local authorities said, are now safe. Regional DepEd director Vilma Labrador said only 245 pupils suffered from abdominal pain, although at least 1,116 children were brought to the Lingad Memorial Hospital in San Fernando City. — Ding Cervantes, Sheila Crisostomo, Ric Sapnu and Rainier Allan Ronda