Durian candy shop suspends production

DAVAO CITY – All manufacturing activities at the shop of Wendy’s Durian Candies here have been suspended after the local government unit ordered it shut down following the food poisoning that downed more than a thousand students in Surigao del Sur last week.

The Davao City Business Bureau went to the manufacturing shop in Barangay Maa here on Monday morning to deliver the suspension order of its business permit after the local government found out that its clearance from the Food and Drug Administration has not yet been released.

Senior Supt. Aaron Aquino, deputy director for operations of the Police Regional Office, said the FDA is set to file a case against Wendy’s on Tuesday for violating Republic Act 9711, or the “An Act Strengthening and Rationalizing the Regulatory Capacity of the Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD).”

Meanwhile, the Special Inter-Agency Investigation Task Group Durian Candy (SIITG-Durian Candy) was created by regional police along with other concerned government agencies and with the assistance of the Surigao del Sur provincial police to hasten the investigation and the resolution of the case.

“The SIITG-Durian Candy was created this weekend and we are now investigating the candies being made at the shop. Our investigators also took samples of raw materials including milk, sugar and flavorings to be subjected to laboratory examination,” Aquino said.

Aquino added that water sample was also taken to check if there was contamination in the water source.

“Representatives from the PNP Crime laboratory from Manila were also there and they will bring the samples to Camp Crame,” Aquino said.

The SIITG-Durian Candy said that candies from the nearby Blesses Durian Candy were also confiscated by authorities for laboratory examination.

“We discovered that the owners of Wendy’s and Blesses are relatives and that their sources are almost the same,” Aquino said.

Investigators also went to the manufacturing shop of Blesses not far from Wendy’s to inspect the area and the production process.

“The owners are very cooperative because they also want to clear their names,” Aquino said.

Quiboloy statement sought

Meanwhile, seven vendors who were arrested in the city of Tandag and the town of Cagwait in Surigao del Sur were already subjected to inquest proceedings for their alleged involvement in the food poisoning.

Aquino said that the van of the vendors were found out to be registered to religious congregation The Kingdom of Jesus Christ, which is led by Pastor Apollo Quiboloy.

“As of now, we cannot link Pastor Quiboloy’s group but initial investigation shows that those who were selling were allegedly members of the congregation,” Aquino said.

The police official said that the task group will also definitely request Quiboloy to issue his statement about the incident.

Known to his followers as the “Appointed Son of God,” Quiboloy started his congregation in an urban poor settlement in Davao City, which has now grown into a big group with millions of followers even from outside the country.

A staff of the congregation refused to comment, saying only Quiboloy, who is in the US, can issue a statement. The staff also said they their group was conducting its own investigation.