Over 200 Guests at Imelda Marcos’ Birthday Party Hospitalized

(Bloomberg) -- As many as 261 people fell ill in the Philippines on suspected food poisoning at Imelda Marcos’s 90th birthday party Wednesday, Health Secretary Francisco Duque said.

At least 2,000 people attended the former Philippine first lady’s celebration at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City in the capital region, Philippine Red Cross said on Twitter. Victims suffered vomiting and dizziness, and many of them were confined in 10 hospitals, authorities said.

Guests were served chicken adobo, a popular meat stew in the Philippines, as well as boiled eggs and rice, Duque said. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, son of Imelda, apologized on his Facebook account and said that the family is assisting the victims.

To contact the reporters on this story: Cecilia Yap in Manila at cyap19@bloomberg.net;Andreo Calonzo in Manila at acalonzo1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Stephanie Phang at sphang@bloomberg.net, Clarissa Batino, Ditas Lopez

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