Imelda Marcos is known for being extravagant. As part of her 90th birthday celebration, she held a party at Ynares Sports Center, Pasig City, reportedly attended by more or less 2,500 visitors, according to the Eastern Police District (EPD).
Pasig DRRMO says 2,000 chicken adobo and egg meals were prepared for the event, and bottled water emblazoned with a photo of a young Imelda were distributed. However, the celebration took a turn for the worse when a number of attendees experienced episodes of vomiting, fainting, and abdominal discomfort—symptoms of food poisoning.
According to Inquirer.net, “Some attendees told reporters the culprit in the suspected poisoning might’ve been this bottled water. Investigators have taken samples of both the water and breakfast meal, which had come from a different supplier.”
The victims have since been brought to various hospitals, with eight Philippine Red Cross (PRC) ambulances responding to the incident. More than three hours after responders were alerted, the number of victims continue to climb. As of writing, the headcount of those who have manifested food poisoning symptoms is estimated to be at more than 200.
This is certainly alarming. And what’s more shocking is that one netizen pointed out that it’s not the first time something like this happened. In the 1987 book Imelda Marcos: The Rise and Fall of One of the World’s Most Powerful Women written by Carmen Navarro Pedrosa, one of the passages highlighting her daughter Irene’s 1981 wedding, read: “People came away from the wedding revolted by the bacchanalian feast, and some vomited not just with disgust but also because the food was rotten. A news item later reported there had been large-scale food poisoning at the wedding, caused by salmonella from food that had traveled too long from Manila to Sarrat.” It was believed to be, at the time, the wedding of the century and Imelda splurged on it.
We hope this new incident will be properly investigated and we pray for the victims’ fast recovery.
Photo courtesy of Goodreads
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