THE congressional office of Representative Erico Basilio Fabian has joined the anti-dengue drive by launching its own campaign within the second district covering more than half of Zamboanga City.
Fabian's senior staff, Manuel Camins, said their anti-dengue campaign is aimed to reinforce the citywide drive launched by the City Health Office to eradicate if not minimized the cases of dengue in the city.
Camins said the campaign, in coordination with the village officials, is being carried out to help deter the spread of dengue given the alarming increase of dengue cases in the city.
Dr. Rodel Agbulos, city health officer, said that as of Thursday, there are already 1,320 cases of dengue with 19 fatalities since January of this year.
Agbulos said the number of dengue cases since January this year have already surpassed by 291 cases compared to the whole year of 2009 that registered a total of 1,029 cases with eight fatalities.
Camins said that all of the fogging machines from their office are out in the villages and are being used in the intensified anti-dengue campaign.
Fabian's district covers 61 of this city's 98 villages or practically the entire eastern coast area of Zamboanga City.
Camins said the intensified anti-dengue campaign is being carried out by personnel of the villages with the assistance of the congressional office especially by providing the necessary logistics and also the needed chemicals for the fumigation.
He said the campaign is now focused in the villages of Cabaluay, Curuan, Tugbungan, and Vitali.
He added that they have completed the fumigation last week in the villages of Kasanyangan and Sta. Maria.
Sta. Maria is one of the populated villages, which falls under this city's first congressional district.
Camins said fogging operations are also scheduled to be held next week in Pasonanca, another village in the first district and Culianan in the second district.
Camins said that village officials who wanted to conduct fumigation in their respective community could coordinate with Fabians's office and "we will provide them with fogging machines including the needed chemicals and other logistics."
He said there is a need to conduct intensified anti-dengue campaign especially in the villages citing the number of dengue cases usually increases during season. (Bong Garcia)