DEADLY DRINK? A cop inspects a store selling “lambanog,” a local coconut wine, following an outbreak of suspected methanol poisoning in Laguna and Quezon provinces. —PHOTO COURTESY OF QUEZON PNP
MANILA, Philippines — The retailer of palm liquor lambanog or coconut wine that allegedly caused the deaths of at least 11 people in Rizal town, Laguna, has fallen ill and now confined at a hospital, police said Tuesday.
“Hindi makuhanan ng statement dahil confined in hospital po ‘yung babae na retailer ng lambanog dito sa Barangay Pook. Natakot siguro sa dami ng namatay dahil sa pag-inom ng lambanog na binebenta niya,” Col. Eleazar Matta, Laguna police chief, said in an interview with DZMM.
(We have yet to get the statement of the retailer of lambanog in Barangay Pook because she was confined in the hospital. Maybe she got scared because of the many deaths due to the ingestion of the coconut wine she was selling.)
Apart from the seller, Matta said the police will also investigate coconut wine manufacturer Fred Rey, whose brand Rey Lambanog has been in the market for four decades. Rey has denied liability to the methanol poisoning incidents when he surfaced before the Rizal Municipal Police Station on Monday.
“Dine-deny niya (Rey) kasi ilang dekada na raw po silang nagne-negosyo ng lambanog. Dine-deny niya na may problema sa pagma-manufacture nila ng lambanog,” according to the police official.
(He denied involvement because he has been running the business for a few decades already. He denied that there was a problem in their way of manufacturing lambanog.)
He added that cases of negligence and reckless imprudence resulting in multiple homicides may be filed against those who may be found liable for the victims’ deaths.
Citing medical findings, police said the lambanog consumed by the victims had a high content of methanol – which use as an extender of ethanol or legal alcohol has been banned by the Food and Drug Administration.
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