BAYAMBANG, Pangasinan—The kusinero (cook) who prepared the food that made about 130 people “poisoned” including children from barangay Amancosiling Norte here is nowhere in sight for investigation.

Mayor Leocadio de Vera Jr toldthis writer in a phone interview that he and Dr. Paz Vallo, municipal health officer, went to the said barangay last Saturday to conduct probe to find out what went wrong with the food served.

This after 122 people were treated in various clinics and hospitals here since Friday as out-patients, with another eight confined due to severe headache, body weakening, diarrhea, and vomiting.

De Vera said the number of afflicted people could have been more but were ashamed to come out because they were being teased by others for being ponsyano (a Pangasinan word that refers to someone who eats with gusto in any party, with or without invitation).

Initial investigation showed that the people ate pork dishes like egado and adobo served in a house where a novena prayer marking the Filipino’s traditional event for the end of grief for the death of a person locally known as “bakas”.

“We want to know what went wrong with the food preparation why the people who partook of the food served fell ill but the cook is nowhere to be found,” de Vera said.

He said he learned that the cook is from barangay Boayaen here but it looks like he’s hiding.  Vallo said they got samples of the food for laboratory examination today at
the Bureau of Food and Drugs.

The town health officials immediately gave medicines to contain the disease and prevent dehydration. Luckily, no one died from the food poisoning.