Upi Mayor Ramon Piang, chairman of the municipal disaster coordinating council, has confirmed that 128 patients were treated for food poisoning, but only more than a dozen were confined at a government hospital due to dehydration.
A separate report said the number of patients have risen to 134 as of press time yesterday.
"The victims first showed signs of diarhea and started vomiting," Piang said.
The victims were mostly residents of Barangays Kinitaan and Renede, both predominantly Tiruray communities.
Esther Petillo, a doctor at a district hospital, said that about 20 victims, mostly children, are in critical condition in Upi, about 900 kilimeters south of Manila.
The local government unit is now investigating reports that the victims could have ingested spoiled bolinao (anchovy) supplied by vendors from nearby Barangay Penansaran, a coastal village in the same town.
"After eating lupoy cooked in different ways, the victims began writhing in pain and started vomiting," Piang said.
The local government has given victims anti-histamines as recommended by attending physicians.
The four vendors, who were among the stricken, were being investigated. — With AFP