Food aid downs Cebu fire victims

CEBU CITY — The suffering of 977 residents of Barangay Tinago here who lost their homes to a fire last Friday was worsened when 60 of them fell ill after eating food provided by the city government.

Tinago barangay captain Joel Garganera said the victims, mostly young children and the elderly, reportedly experienced stomach pains, drowsiness, weakness and vomiting after eating breakfast served them last Sunday.

At least 13 were admitted at the Cebu City Medical Center, three at the Velez Hospital and four at the Vicente Sotto Medical Center. Garganera said the rest refused to be confined.

At first, Garganera said some of the food poisoning victims ignored the symptoms but later, he began to suspect something was wrong when more people began complaining about stomach pains and vomiting.

The victims had eaten scrambled eggs, hotdogs and ham served by a caterer paid by the city government.

Upon learning of the incident, acting Mayor Michael Rama immediately halted the food assistance.

"We don’t want to accuse anybody. We will wait for the results of the medical examinations," he said.

Assistant city epidemiologist Edgar Pangue said they were looking into how the food was handled and transported.

Pangue, however, said they were still investigating whether it was the food or the water that was given to the fire victims that caused the poisoning.

Testing food samples will take seven days, and water samples, three days. — Freeman News Service