COTABATO CITY, Philipipnes - Two T’boli natives perished while dozens more were hospitalized due to a diarrhea outbreak in Lake Sebu town in South Cotabato.
The outbreak was reported by authorities on Friday, just as 123 ethnic Bilaan villagers in nearby Tampakan town in the same province were being rushed to different hospitals due to food poisoning.
The Bilaan villagers reportedly started to complain of painful abdominal spasms and loose bowel movement after feasting on packed meals served to them during a dialogue on mining activities in Barangay Tablu in Tampakan.
A tribal datu named Timuay Carling Sanuay had told reporters his constituents started vomiting and writhed in pain just about two hours after eating the meals offered by organizers of the community gathering.
The two that died from dehydration due to dysentery were residents of a hinterland barangay in the northwest of Lake Sebu, about 40 kilometers northwest of Tampakan.
The outbreak had also affected dozens of villagers Lake Sebu’s adjoining Kubang, Lubo, Tinugas, Blit and Tasufaw villages, according to local officials.