Twenty four residents were hospitalized after eating food served by organizers of a medical and dental mission in Banga, Tinambac, Camarines Sur Wednesday.
Tinambac Municipal Health Officer Dr. Judy Reforma said the residents consumed leftover “paksiw” from the humanitarian mission sponsored by the local government.
Reforma said the food was initially served to mission beneficiaries but the excess was distributed to the residents.
Seventeen of the victims remain under observation at the hospital.
The victims’ families alleged that the incident was not made public.
Mayor Ruel Velarde, however, explained that concealing the incident from the public and the media was not intentional. He said the local government was just too busy attending to the victims that they weren’t able to immediately inform the media about the incident.
