Pupils of Mirab Elementary School in Upi, Maguindanao del Norte were rushed to the Datu Blah Sinsuat District Hospital Wednesday morning. (Photo courtesy of Salembai Guilani of Upi, Maguindanao del Norte)
COTABATO CITY— Seventy five elementary school pupils in the upland town of Upi in Maguindanao del Norte province were rushed to the hospital Wednesday morning after complaining of abdominal pain and dizziness.
Upi Mayor Rona Piang-Flores said the children are confined at Datu Blah Sinsuat district hospital in Barangay Poblacion.
They are pupils of Mirab Elementary School in Barangay Mirab
“Majority are in stable condition but they remain under observation in the hospital,” Flores said in a radio interview.
Citing a report from the municipal health office, Piang-Flores said the kids could have been exposed to the insecticide sprayed by farmers onto the coconut fields adjacent to the school.
“A farmer has come forward and admitted he sprayed insecticide in the coconut plantation at the back of the school,” the mayor said.
The children complained of severe stomach pains.
Some started vomiting while others felt dizzy less than an hour after they entered their classrooms.
Flores has ordered a thorough investigation into the incident.
She directed the municipal social welfare office to extend aid to the affected children and their families.