A SIX-year-old boy died yesterday dawn while two of his siblings landed in the hospital after reportedly eating cassava in the mountain barangay of Balaygtiki, Dumanjug.
Residents reported to the police that Noven Monteza died in the hospital, while his brother Dexter, 2, and sister Marilyn, 9, were confined in a public hospital.
PO1 Vilma Caballero, Dumanjug Police Station alert team leader, said that the Montezas could not afford to buy medicines.
The family lived far from the town center, she said.
An initial investigation by the police revealed that that the family ate dinner around 5 p.m. last Tuesday. Four hours later, the children complained to their parents that they felt stomach pains.
The kids vomited several times and cried in pain. Their parents also suffered stomach pains.
At 4 a.m. yesterday, the parents noticed foam in Noven's mouth. The boy later died.
Three hours later, the parents and relatives rushed Dexter and Marilyn to the district hospital in the neighboring town of Barili. The two kids were later transferred to Carcar City District Hospital.
Caballero said that the kids are still under observation.