BAGUIO City Mayor Benjamin Magalong is not denying the air quality in the city is bad. Magalong said air in the summer capital is indeed one of the worst in the country and is taking bold steps to correct the problem. Deaths due to air pollution related diseases have steadily increased in the city since 2015 according to a report. City planning officer Antoinette Aniban revealed an average of 2,136 have died due to pollution related sicknesses. In 2015, there were 2,181 deaths logged followed by 2,129 in 2016. In 2017 there were 2,267 deaths logged and in 2018 peaked at 2,338. In 2019, there were 1,767, seeing a decrease since the five year monitoring period. Aniban said leading causes of morbidity is asthma, influenza like illness, Bronchitis, Dengue fever, hypertension, acute gastroenteritis, Systemic viral infection, dog bite, pneumonia and URTI. Magalong said he is pushing for a low carbon transport system because of the alarming statistics on air pollution which is now progressing into a health problem. “I did not hesitate na banggitin yan, I expected this, malaki problem natin sa carbon emission, there is no point in denying it,” Magalong said. Magalong said programs like the modernization of public transport is also a way forward to address the issue on air quality. Data shows there are now 603,243 vehicles in the city with 22,870 motorcycles.