6 Palawan villagers die after eating wild abaca

Camp Vicente Lim, Laguna, Philippines  – Six villagers in Rizal, Palawan, including an eight-year-old boy, have died in a span of more than two months after reportedly eating shoots of wild abaca plants, police said yesterday.

Inspector Rodelio Caballes, Rizal police chief, said the victims lived in the mountainous village of Culasian and apparently ate fresh shoots of wild abaca plants when they could not go to the lowlands to buy food due to continuous rains. – Arnell Ozaeta