Mayor Deo Manpatilan, Jr. presides over the joint feedback session participated by local government officials of Esperanza town, representatives of Department of Health Center for Health Development-Caraga and medical staff of Esperanza Medicare Community Hospital. (Photo courtesy of Local Government of Esperanza)
SAN FRANCISCO, Agusan del Sur—All 216 food poisoning victims from Esperanza, Agusan del Sur have been discharged from Esperanza Medicare Community Hospital (EMCH) and neighboring public hospitals on Wednesday.
The patients, who are also flood victims from the isolated village of Tandang Sora in Esperanza town, were transported home via a large pump boat operated by the Search and Rescue Agusan del Sur (SARAS) team.
They were rushed to hospitals on Monday when they felt ill after consuming the food packs distributed by Philippine Red Cross (PRC) staff.
Mayor Deo Manpatilan, Jr. emphasized the need to refrain from assigning blame amidst an ongoing investigations.
“This is not the time to point fingers, especially as Philippine Red Cross aims to assist. Our focus is on prevention for the future.”
Local authorities are still awaiting results of laboratory testing of the food and drinking water by the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine in Muntinlupa City.
Meanwhile, the PRC has suspended its “hot meals on wheels” program in Agusan del Sur pending completion of the investigation.
In a statement, PRC assured its full cooperation with the investigation, expressing deep concern for the hospitalized individuals and emphasizing transparency in coordination with the local government.