THE Department of Health (DOH) 7 will examine the milkfish, or bangus, that was eaten by four construction workers in Barangay Poblacion, Lapu-Lapu City on Friday night, Oct. 30, 2022.
Maj. Ramil Dugan, chief of Lapu-Lapu City Police Station 3, told SunStar Cebu on Sunday, Oct. 30, they submitted what was left of the grilled milkfish to the agency to determine if it caused the death of 35-year-old Felix Genelazo.
Based on their initial investigation, one of the construction workers bought a kilo of milkfish for P30 from an unidentified fishmonger at the Lapu-Lapu City Public Market around 5 p.m. on Friday.
Dugan said they have a person of interest after she was identified by her co-fish vendors outside the public market, but they don’t know her whereabouts.
He said the police can’t disclose her name since they have no evidence to prove that the fish she sold caused Genelazo’s death.
He said they still have to wait for the DOH 7’s test result as well as the result of the autopsy.
“Baka mamaya na-cardiac arrest lang yung biktima (Maybe the victim just had a cardiac arrest),” he said.
However, the police chief said a case for violation of Republic Act 10611, or The Food Safety and Security Act, is being prepared for filing in court against the person of interest in case the results come back positive.
Genelazo’s co-workers -- Virgilio Supas, Haslenito Bonghanoy and Jaymar Padillo -- also ate the fish and survived, albeit they experienced symptoms of food poisoning, such as vomiting, stomach aches and diarrhea, hours after dinner.
Supas is still confined in the Lapu-Lapu City Hospital, while Bonghanoy and Padillo got better after taking medication.