Donors urged to send food to evacuation centers after food poisoning case in Makilala

November 5, 2019

National Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) executive director Ricardo Jalad called all donors to send aid for earthquake victims to the incident command post (ICP) following food poisoning in North Cotabato on Monday.

Jalad said Tuesday an initial report said a total of 29 earthquake survivors were hospitalized due to food poisoning in Makilala around 10 pm.

"They (donors) should bring their aid to ICP. In fact, yesterday there is a report of food poisoning. There are food given to them... we do not know the specific area where it came from and were not able to trace who provided (the food) and that resulted to food poisoning," he told reporters in a press briefing in Camp Aguinaldo.

"Maybe it was not intentional so we encouraged (displaced persons) to go to the evacuation center so we will be checking the quality of the food, checking the quality of medicine if they give medicine," he said.

Jalad said nine victims were admitted at Kidapawan City hospital and ten others at the provincial hospital. Ten were outpatients at the rural health unit of Makilala.

Mark Timbal,  spokesman of the Office of Civil Defense ( OCD), based on initial report victims from the evacuation center in Brgy. Malabuan suffered abdominal pain, with episodes of nausea and vomiting.  

"According to PESU ( Provincial Epidemiological Surveillance Unit ) Department of Health, allegedly they ate donated food by sponsored group of individuals from Midsayap," he said.

Jalad reiterated there is still no need for them to ask for assistance from international community as the OCD still has funds.

"During the response phases we can still manage. Here in OCD, we still have  lots of funds how much more to other agencies with bigger fund...  in two months (we will have) NDRRM ( National Disaster Risk Reduction Management)  funds which will be used for rebuilding these areas damaged or affected by disasters," he said.

Jalad said after verifying the death toll from the magnitude 6.6 quake last Oct. 29 and 6.5 last Oct. 31 reached  21 not 22 which they reported on Monday. Two others remain missing.

"As of now the number of fatalities is 21, reported yesterday 22 as per validation it is just 21. Those two missing, they were missing due to landslide in upper Makilala,'' he said.

Jalad said the Mines and Geosciences Board and Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) recommended no search and retrieval be done as of now because of landslide that will pose risks to the responders. Robina Asido/DMS