Calumpit village under state of calamity due to food poisoning

CALUMPIT, Bulacan, Philippines  – A state of calamity was declared in a village here due to food poisoning that affected at least 200 residents.

Roland Ramos, chairman of Barangay Meysulao told The STAR in a telephone interview that the Sangguniang Bayan of Calumpit declared a state of calamity in his village.

Ramos said the declaration of a state of calamity was meant to fast track assistance to affected families who are now recovering in what is considered the worst food poisoning incident in the province. The victims were said to have eaten spaghetti served in the birthday party of a two-year-old Filipino-Japanese resident on Saturday.

The municipal government also conducted a medical mission yesterday to assist the victims and encouraged residents to boil drinking water while waiting for the results of tests conducted on water samples collected on Monday.

Bulacan Gov. Wilhelmino Alvarado ordered that patients being treated in hospitals in the nearby towns of Pampanga be transferred to Calumpit District Hospital or Bulacan Medical Center (BMC) as he offered free medical treatment.

Dr. Joycelyn Gomez said that 125 of the victims were admitted in different hospitals in Bulacan and Pampanga.