Tuesday, March 25, 2008 Inaction v. dengue to mean penalty
INSTEAD of credit grabbing over the improved dengue situation in Barangay Lahug, a Cebu City councilor urged barangay captains to work together to bring down the number of dengue cases all over the city.
Councilor Gerardo Carillo said they will ask the barangay captains of the 10 villages with the highest number of dengue cases to submit their plan on how they intend to reduce the number of dengue cases in their respective barangays.
For his part, Carillo is drafting a proposed ordinance that will penalize Cebu City residents who refuse to eliminate breeding sites of dengue-carrying mosquitoes in their surroundings.
This will be consolidated with the measure that will require billboard owners and organizers of events and concerts to put up insurance fund for damages and injuries in the event of a disaster or calamity.
Not limited
Carillo, chairman of the Cebu City Disaster Coordinating Council, said the ordinance will not be limited to dengue prevention but will cover all calamities.
“We are still preparing that ordinance. In the meantime, we will call on the barangay captains to present their plan on how they can reduce the number of dengue cases. The barangays are the first line of defense against dengue, so they need to have their own anti-dengue program,” he told reporters yesterday.
Death
From Jan. 1 to March 22 this year, the City Health Department recorded 430 cases of dengue fever, 15 of which resulted in death.
This is more than twice the number recorded in the same period last year, when only 206 dengue fever cases and two deaths were recorded.
Carillo urged the barangays to use their calamity fund for dengue prevention. Their calamity fund represents five percent of their annual general fund.
At City Hall, P20 million of the City Government’s P76-million calamity fund was already used for dengue prevention measures, rental and purchase of equipment for disaster response and training of barangay officials and workers on disaster and emergency response.
In his press conference yesterday, Carillo belied Lahug Barangay Captain Mary Ann de los Santos’ claims that City Hall had nothing to do with improved dengue situation in her barangay.
During the press conference, Dr. Raymond Ogan, city coordinator for the Dengue Control Program, said they conducted massive spraying activities in October and November last year.
High index
They also conducted an entomological survey with the Department of Health last January and February, which showed a high index for dengue-carrying mosquitoes in some sitios.
Lahug ranked second among the barangays with the highest number of dengue cases in the city last year. But as of last month, it ranked seventeenth after a massive cleanup in the barangay. (LCR)
