CEBU CITY — High school students of the Concord Technical Institute in Cebu City were rushed to the hospital on Wednesday due to stomach pains, dizziness, palpitations, and vomiting after drinking free samples of a coffee drink.

At least 29 students were being treated at the Cebu City Medical Center (CCMC) as of 5 p.m., said Nagiel Bañacia, chief of the Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (CCDRRMC).

The students were in stable condition at the hospital.

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“Maybe, they can go home tonight (Wednesday),” Bañacia said.

He said they would ask the manufacturer and distributor of Kopiko 78 degrees coffee drink to explain the apparent food poisoning suffered by the students after they drank their samples, while school officials were directed to submit an incident report.

Samples of Kopiko 78 degrees coffee were distributed to teachers and students at Concord Technical Institute in the morning.

By 11 a.m., some of the students who drank the coffee started suffering stomach pains and vomiting.

The school nurse attended to the first batch of students who fell ill after they drank samples of Kopiko 78 degrees.

But more students sought medical attention later on, prompting school officials to seek the assistance of the Cebu City Command Control Center.

Bañacia said he sent six ambulances to the school to transport the students to CCMC.

He said they also took samples of the coffee and submitted them to the Department of Science and Technology for laboratory tests.

The school administrator, Joseph Ty, told Bañacia that students below 18 years old were not allowed to get samples of the coffee.

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But Liza Travio, an officer of the school’s records section, said some students under 18 years old still managed to get samples of Kopiko 78 degrees.

“Kini laging naa gyuy mga sipat. (There are really some naughty students),” she said in an interview.

Not one of the teachers who drank samples of the coffee felt bad.

The coffee’s expiry date indicated on the packet was May 23, 2017, Travio said. SFM

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