Health officials still determining cause of food poisoning
ROXAS CITY – Health officials have yet to determine if the packed lunch served to the senior citizens during the celebration of Senior Citizens Week was the cause of food poisoning that downed 43 persons last week.
Roxas City administrator Mr. Ronald Amigo told The News Today (TNT) last Friday that out of the 43 patients, 13 were confined at the Saint Anthony College Hospital, five at Capiz Emmanuel Hospital and nine at the Roxas Memorial Provincial Hospital.
Amigo said the city government already gave assistance to the victims by giving them free medicines in which 50 percent was shouldered by the city and 50 percent answered by the provincial government.
It was learned that City Mayor Vicente Bermejo sponsored the lunch for the senior citizens during the celebration in the amount of P81,000.
Amigo also said that the caterer Bong Mendoza who is employed at the Teodoro Arcenas Trade Center promised to help the victims.
The city administrator said that there was no official finding that the packed lunch caused the food poisoning.
Mrs. Pacita D. Daria, 67, of Calipayan, Roxas City told TNT that she suffered vomiting, lose bowel movement (LBM) and stomach pain after she had eaten the packed lunch with chopsuey, two slices of pork and rice.
She said that her husband Martin Daria, also a Senior Citizen, was spared because he brought his packed lunch to their house but their youngest son Franklin, 18, who ate it was also hospitalized.
Another senior citizen victim Mrs. Alma Loyola also complained suffering the same after eating the packed lunch.
Amigo said that samples of the pack lunch was already brought to Iloilo City for further examination.