Spaghetti, cassava banned in Boy Scouts’ jamboree

ILIGAN CITY — To allay parents’ fear of food poisoning, organizers of the Boy Scouts of the Philippines’ Western Mindanao jamboree here on Oct. 23-27 have banned the sale of spaghetti and cassava (kamoteng kahoy) sweets to the young scouts.

Salvador Iglupas, the jamboree’s program commissioner, said they decided on the move after the parents of the participating Boy Scouts expressed apprehension that their children might succumb to food poisoning.

The parents were apparently aware of what befell more than 40 Grade 1 pupils in Lugait, Misamis Oriental, who, together with their teacher and some parents, fell sick after eating spaghetti during the birthday celebration of one of the students.

Still fresh in the minds of the scouts’ parents is the tragedy in Bohol last year when several youngsters died after eating pesticide-laden cassava sweets.

At least some 6,000 Boy Scouts and Scouters are expected to take part in the jamboree in Sitio Pindugangan, Barangay Tipanoy here.

The participants will come from the Western Mindanao provinces of Sulu, Basilan, Zamboanga del Sur, Zamboanga Sibugay, Zamboanga del Norte, Lanao del Norte and Lanao del Sur, and the cities of Dipolog, Marawi and Cotabato.

BSP secretary general Jose Rizal Pangilinan will be the guest of honor during the opening program of the fourth regional jamboree, which has adopted the theme "A Program of Today’s Youth for a Better Tomorrow."