SAN PEDRO CITY — At least seven people had died while over a hundred were taken to different hospitals after showing signs of alcohol poisoning in Laguna and Quezon provinces on Sunday afternoon.
The fatalities had all reportedly ingested “lambanog,” an alcoholic drink made from coconuts.
Most of the victims were from Rizal town in Laguna, specifically from the villages of Pook and Taytay.
In Candelaria town in Quezon, a male resident also died Sunday after ingesting lambanog, as confirmed by Alex Masiglat, spokesperson of the regional disaster risk reduction and management council (DRRMC).
Aldwin Cejo of the Laguna DRRMC said six people had died, while 122 people, all residents of Rizal, were rushed to hospitals after showing signs of poisoning such as stomach ache and vomiting.
Cejo said reports of poisoning started coming in around 4 p.m. but from different locations in Rizal.
Antonio Aurello, vice mayor of Rizal, said a large group of the victims were guests in a birthday party in Barangay Pook where they drank lambanog on Sunday afternoon.
“It couldn’t be the food served because only those who drank the lambanog were poisoned,” Aurello said.
The victims were taken to a health center in Rizal while others to a district hospital in San Pablo City, Laguna and to Philippine General Hospital (PGH) in Manila.
“There were just too many the mayor (Vener Muñoz) himself brought the victims to the PGH on five vehicles,” Aurello added.
Ambulances from adjacent towns were also called in to ferry the victims.