Bohol Vice Gov. Julius Cesar Herrera expressed the hope that the scholarship program will help rebuild the lives of the victims’ families who were devastated by the tragedy.

Information technology (IT) school Informatics donated the scholarship grants to the Bohol government. The grants are intended for the siblings of the victims of the food poisoning.

"May the scholars return something to the society when they become leaders," said Informatics Holdings president and CEO Leo Riingen.

As this developed, the Department of Education (DepEd) conducted a psychological debriefing of all pupils at the San Jose Elementary School (SJES) in Mabini before normal classes can resume.

Education Secretary Florencio Abad gave the verbal order for the debriefing, said Dr. Cerina Bolos, Bohol DepEd superintendent.

Abad attended last March 10 the burial of 12 of the 27 food-poisoning victims in San Jose, Mabini town.

Bolos did not know how long the debriefing process would take because it would be conducted by the team to be sent by Abad.

While she admitted that the debriefing process is a normal practice, this is the first time that it will be done by experts from Manila.

Bolos could not recall the last time a debriefing was done in her division, but was sure it was after an encounter between government troops and communist rebels.

Bolos recalled that the pupils who were hospitalized were debriefed separately from those who were not confined.

After the children, Bolos said, it was the turn of the parents who were grouped according to the same criteria applied to the children. Bolos revealed that the debriefing was held at the school SJES.

The Bohol DepEd chief said she expects extended class days at SJES because the children need to complete the 205 required school days.

While the original graduation date was set on April 5, Bolos said, this will have to be moved because of the extended class days and the debriefing.