At least 89 cadets of the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) participating in a summer camp in Dingle, Iloilo landed in hospitals due to stomachache and vomiting.

The 89 cadets started exhibiting symptoms about 20 minutes into dinner on June 17, 2026.

Col. Edralin Poblete, Commander of the 6th Regional Community Defense Group, said the training staff immediately directed the cadets to stop eating when several of them started feeling unwell.

“Fortunately, naging SOP namin every time kakain ‘yung mga bata, merong nagsu-supervise na training staff, including officer. So, nung nakita nila na may nagreklamo, so immediately, ang ginawa ng officer ko pinatigil na ‘yung pagkain. Hindi nakakain ‘yung second batch,” he said.

The 89 cadets were among the 450 trainees who had dinner first.

Nine hundred cadets are participating in the summer camp at the Camp Adriano D. Hernandez in Dingle.

Seventy-four of the 89 were brought to the Iloilo Provincial Hospital in Pototan town, 10 were brought to the Don Jose Monfort Medical Center in Barotac Nuevo, and five were brought to the Ramon Duremdes District Hospital in Dumangas.

Dr. Ma. Socorro Quiñon, head of the Iloilo Provincial Health Office (IPHO), said the 89 cadets manifested symptoms of foodborne disease, often referred to as food poisoning.

IPHO is investigating which food caused the poisoning but the suspected culprit is pork adobo.

“Hopefully, makakolekta tayo ng specimen samples ng naiwan pang pagkain at tubig ilimnon para maipadala sa laboratory for confirmatory testing at para makapagbigay ng impormasyon sa atin kung ano ang possible na pagkain at inumin na sanhi ng sintomas ng mga pasyente,” Quiñon said.

The IPHO is looking at possible contamination during the preparation stage in cooking.

The food for the summer camp is cooked in-house by 10 people hired by the Regional Community Defense Group. They reportedly used fresh meat for the pork adobo.

The 89 cadets have been discharged from the hospitals and are now in stable condition.

The cadets participating in the camp come from different schools in Western Visayas and Negros Occidental.