Deadly Horse Meat

Horses are a common sight in Kulaman Plateau. In a primarily agricultural town with inadequately developed farm-to-market roads, farmers often rely on horses to transport produce.

In April this year, seven people died and more than a hundred got sick in Kulaman Plateau due to eating probably contaminated horse meat. I learned the news soon after it came out in several websites, but I was only able to read more about it recently. As far as my research is concerned, the case remains a mystery as of this writing.

From reading the news articles about the case, I discovered some interesting things, both directly and indirectly related to the case. First is that the lede, or introductory paragraph, of most of the articles is confusing. It’s not clear from them what occurred on Wednesday, April 2, 2014—the deaths or the consumption of horse meat. Based on several online sources, let me narrate what happened in chronological order and identify for you which of the facts are established:

April 2
Sixteen residents of Sitio Parreño, Barangay Tinalon, were rushed to the municipal hospital of Senator Ninoy Aquino (SNA). They showed “symptoms of food poisoning”: severe headache, vomiting, stomach pain, diarrhea. They had eaten horse meat. The meat was “double dead,” which means that the animals were already dead when they were butchered.

It’s not clear how many horses died and were eaten; one report states that there were four dead horses, another states five, and others state “several.” It’s not also clear when exactly the victims consumed the meat—possibly on April 2 or the day before.

Because the municipal hospital “lacked nurses, oxygen and medicine” (with which I’m not surprised), the sixteen patients were transferred to the provincial hospital, in the municipality of Isulan.

April 3
Sources from the provincial hospital told Mindanews that five victims had died. It’s not clear if all the victims died in the provincial hospital or some of them died in SNA.

April 4
According to the Philippine Star, sources from SNA told Bombo Radyo that four had died. The report states the names of the victims, but it’s not clear if all the victims died in the provincial hospital or some of them died in SNA.

April 6
According to ABS-CBN, sources from the provincial agriculture office told Philippine Star that “at least 70 more” residents of Brgy. Tinalon got sick, bringing the total number of victims to more than a hundred. The report states that four of the victims has died. The report also states that the veterinarians “expressed belief the horse’s meat might have been infected with a viral disease.” This was the first instance that a possible viral infection came into the picture.

May 14
Interaksyon reported that the regional health office had sent blood samples of the victims to laboratories in the US and Japan to help determine what caused their deaths. The report states that seven people died.

So what was the real cause of the tragedy? As mentioned earlier, the mystery has not been resolved. Next Monday, I’ll share with you some of my thoughts on the issue. I’m doubtful about the viral infection angle, but I don’t have enough knowledge on medicine, so what I have to say about that matter isn’t significant. But I believe I have some interesting things to say about the practice of eating horse meat here in Kulaman Plateau. Hint: No, I am not against killing horses.

Interaksyon, the companion website of TV5, posted an erroneous map. The map is that of Sultan Kudarat town, Maguindanao Province. The horse meat poisoning happened here in Senator Ninoy Aquino town, Sultan Kudarat Province.

Tinalon Cave Resort

The official name of the resort is Elan’s Haven. But if you’re asking directions from the locals, just say “Tinalon swimming pool.” If you use the official name, the person you’re asking might think you want to go to heaven. The entrance fee is P25 for an adult and P10 for a child. Cottage fee is P150.

The resort has two swimming pools. One has a depth of four to five feet, the other two and a half feet. The walls and floors, made of concrete, are slippery with moss, so you must be careful.

The water in the swimming pools comes from the stream that flows through a cave. If you

peer at this photo closer, you can see the small mouth of the cave under the trees. We didn’t go inside the cave because you have to pay P15 per head and P100 for the tour guide. You also have to rent flashlights for P20 each, and the flashlights look as though they were bought for P20. I guess the prices are affordable enough for those who come from urban areas, but my relatives and I are not willing to waste such an amount because there’s also a cave in our farm in another village. We can go in and out of “our” cave as often as we want without paying a single centavo, and according to persons who have been to both caves, the two look as ugly.

The murky koi pond. There’s still so much to be improved in the resort, but for now, it’s the best in Kulaman, so just love your own, I guess. The water in the swimming pools is fresh and cold anyway, and it doesn’t hurt if you open your eyes underwater.

The gardens in the resort are not well-maintained, but I like this spot.

Tinalon Cave Resort

Words flow out of my mind faster when I write personal essays, so to keep the momentum, I’ll continue writing about my experiences in Kulaman Plateau and take some breather from summarizing or quoting academic texts. As a follow-up to my posts on the hundred caves of Kulaman, I’ll feature today the one that is in the village of Tinalon.

Along with Lagbasan Cave, Tinalon Cave Resort is the tourist spot in Kulaman that has a strong presence in the online world. I see pictures of the resort in Facebook, and I’ve been planning for some time now to go back there and take a wide-angled photo for my Facebook cover. For now, though, let me just narrate my experience there two years ago. People I know say nothing much has changed since, so my descriptions may still be accurate.

Photo from here. No copyright infringement intended.

I wasn’t able to go inside the cave. The mouth was small and you had to squeeze through to get inside. Not enticing. The cave anyway, was not really the main attraction there. Most locals went there to swim. The resort had two swimming pools, one for children and another for adults. The best thing about the place was the water, coming from the stream flowing out of the cave and carried to the pools by large black pipes.

The water, however, was too cold for me. I had just got back to Kulaman then, after staying most of the time away from home for more than ten years. I had been used to the hellish temperatures of Isulan, Koronadal, and Cebu, and Kulaman felt like the North Pole to me. It didn’t help that it was drizzling when my companions and I went to Tinalon. I dove into the water, paddled like a dog, and sat on the edge of the pool shirtless and shivering. I didn’t so much as dip my fingers into the water again. Now that I’m used to the temperature of Kulaman, though, I’ll probably enjoy the water in Tinalon Resort.

As to the cave, some relatives who had been inside told me that it wasn’t much different from other caves. If you came to Kulaman for spelunking, it’s better to head straight to Lagbasan Cave.

The swimming pools in Tinalon were rather crudely made. The floor wasn’t tiled and was thick with moss, making it slippery and a little dangerous. Cottages for an overnight stay were available. It was a good place for a honeymoon. For the whole day you could swim, go inside the cave, swim again, and go inside the smaller cave (wink). If you’re the type who likes swimming in a chlorinated pool with artificial waves, Tinalon Resort is not for you. But if you’re a nature-loving backpacker, Tinalon’s simple beauty will charm you.