BACOLOD City Councilor Cindy Rojas urged all village chiefs to conduct the "4-o'clock habit para deng-get out!" vector control program within their barangays.

Rojas, chairperson of the City Council committee on health, said on Sunday, August 18, that village chiefs should lead their constituents in conducting the program to prevent dengue cases from rising in their barangays.

She said the 4-o'clock habit aims to search and destroy mosquito breeding places.

"We already visited the area of Barangay Tangub, one of the barangays with the highest dengue cases in Bacolod. We are hopeful that our barangays should practice the 4-o'clock habit to clean their surroundings to destroy mosquito breeding places," she added.

Rojas noted the City Council earlier approved the P17.8 million appropriation ordinance to fund the City Health Office (CHO) anti-dengue campaign in the city.

The budget was taken from the Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (DRRMO) quick response fund 2019.

The budget was requested by the CHO after the Department of Health declared the country's outbreak of dengue a national epidemic.

Dr. Grace Tan, CHO-Environmental Sanitation Division head, earlier said the budget will be used for the purchase of medicines, chemicals, and equipment for their campaign on dengue.

From January to August 10, Bacolod had a total of 1,127 dengue cases, which increased by 90.4 percent with six deaths compared to last year's 592 cases with three deaths.

Of the 1,127 cases, Barangay Estefania posted the highest number of cases with 131.

Others include Barangay Tangub with 85 cases; Barangay Villamonte with 76; Barangays Taculing and Mansilingan, 74 each; Barangay Granada, 73; Barangay Alijis, 68; Barangay Handumanan, 59; Barangay Pahanocoy, 57; and Barangay Mandalagan.

Tan also urged the public to practice the "4S" in households and surroundings to prevent and control dengue.

The "4S" means: Search and destroy mosquito breeding place; Self-protection measures; Seek early consultation for fever lasting more than two days; and Say no to indiscriminate fogging.