2 hospitalized for snake bites

TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol –– Two men were hospitalized after snakes bit them in separate incidents in Alicia town.

Jonathan Aba, a resident of Barangay Cabatang was reportedly bitten while he was on his way home from a drinking spree at 5 a.m. on Monday, September 30.

Aba, 24, could not identify the species of the snake.

At first, he went to a “manayhupay” (folk healer) to remove the poison but he eventually decided to seek treatment at the Gov. Celestino Gallares Memorial Hospital in Tagbilaran City.

Ignacio Etorma, 58, a resident of Sitio Tawid in Barangay La Hacienda was still in the hospital after a venomous snake bit him at 10 a.m. on Sunday, September 29.

He said he accidentally stepped on it while he was looking for his carabao in the rice field.

The snake, a Philippine cobra locally known as “ugahipon,” bit him on the foot, leaving his right leg in throbbing pain.

He also sought help from an “albularyo” (folk healer), but he decided to seek medical attention at the same government hospital in Tagbilaran City.