DAVAO CITY – At least 80 Indigenous Peoples were taken to hospitals after they suffered severe stomach pain and vomiting after consuming a native delicacy during a tribal wedding in remote Barangay Pandan, South Upi, Maguindanao del Sur on Thursday, April 25.
Dr. Rose Leah Jerusalem, municipal health officer, said 65 victims were taken to the South Upi Municipal Hospital (SUMPH) and 15 were brought to the Datu Blah Sinsuat District Hospital in Nuro, North Upi, Maguindanao del Norte.
SUSPECTED food poisoning victims are treated in South Upi, Maguindanao del Sur on April 25. (Photo courtesy of Amaialiah Mayordomo of RHU South Upi)
Jerusalem said that four victims taken to the SUMPH have been discharged. Sixty-one are still admitted at the hospital and five of them are under observation.
Many of the victims were from Barangay Pandan and the others were from the neighboring Barangay Kigan and North Upi.
Based on their initial investigation, Jerusalem said that the suspected food poisoning may have been triggered by a spoiled native delicacy called as "beniton."
A Teduray farmer said that beniton is prepared with spices, coconut milk, and native chicken. However, beniton would be spoiled if it is improperly prepared especially during extreme heat conditions.
Maguindanao del Sur is one of the provinces in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) severely affected by the extreme heat due to the El Niño phenomenon. The province is under a state of calamity due to prolonged dry spell.
Food samples have been taken and sent to a laboratory for analysis.