THE Department of Health (DOH) in Northern Mindanao has urged local government units to replicate an ordinance in Claveria town, Misamis Oriental that strengthened efforts to prevent, control, and reduce mosquitoes.
The ordinance penalizes people who show zero effort in destroying breeding sites of mosquitoes.
For the first offense, violators will be warned and will be required to do a three-hour community service. The second offense will require violators to pay a fine of P1,000 and an eight-hour community service, while the third offense imposes to violators a P2,000 fine and a three-day imprisonment.
DOH-Northern Mindanao acting assistant director Dr. David Mendoza said the ordinance was passed in 2016 when Claveria also had a high number of dengue cases.
"We are going to monitor how good it is because if that would be the case, then that should be copied in all municipalities. Because ang atong kampanya, ang end game, is cooperation. Networking not only of government agencies, but also with private sector and the community," Mendoza said.
"Gihagit nato other local government units to do the same. Kay mas maayo nga naay ngipon ang balaod nga atong gi-implementar aron matabangan kitang tanan sa pagpakunhod sa dengue cases, ug pagpakunhod pud sa lamok sa atong palibot," he added.
In response to the dengue epidemic declaration on August 5, the DOH-Northern Mindanao raised Code Blue, which meant the activation of the incident command system, coordination with the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, and moratorium of non-essential activities.
From January 1 to August 10, a total of 16,519 suspected dengue cases have been reported from all health facilities across the region. This is 66 percent higher compared to the same period last year.
Some 68 people have already died from dengue.
Among the provinces, Bukidnon still has the highest number of cases at 6,798, while children between ages 1 to 10 still are the most affected age group.
The DOH-Northern Mindanao is also implementing the "Sabayang 4-O'clock Habit para Deng-Get Out." Every 3 p.m., the public is directed to clean the environment, find mosquito breeding sites and destroy them. (PJ Orias)