THE City Health Office (CHO)–Tropical Disease Prevention and Control Unit reported that the number of dengue cases in Davao City in 2025 decreased by 53.54 percent compared to 2024.
Melodina Babante, focal person of the Tropical Disease Prevention and Control Unit, said dengue cases dropped to 3,325 in 2025, from 7,175 cases in 2024. This is the largest decrease the office has documented since the dengue surge in 2010.
The number of fatalities caused by dengue also declined, from 56 deaths in 2024 to 29 deaths in 2025.
Babante said the barangays with the top three highest dengue cases in 2025 were Bucana with 148 cases, Talomo Proper with 122, and Buhangin with 112.
Most dengue cases were male patients at 51.4 percent, while the remaining cases were female.
Meanwhile, the age group most affected by dengue was children aged five to nine years old. However, a significant number of cases were also documented among the elderly, particularly those aged 60 and above.
“Sana karon, with the help of our barangay mosquito-borne disease task force, ang atoang local government of Davao ug ang tanan interagency task force na belong sa atoang mosquito disease task force siguro ma-project nato na ang dengue is sa karun na tuig mubaba siya,” she said during the ISpeak media forum, on Thursday, January 29, 2026, at the City Mayor’s Office.
(Hopefully, today, with the help of our barangay mosquito-borne disease task force, our local government of Davao, and all the inter-agency task forces that belong to our mosquito disease task force, we can project that dengue cases this year will decrease.)
Dengue task force activation reduces cases
Babante attributed the decline in dengue cases to the activation of the barangay mosquito-borne disease task force, which was created through Section 8 of City Ordinance No. 0401-20, series of 2020.
She cited Barangay Talomo Proper, which previously did not have a barangay task force and often topped the list of barangays with the highest dengue cases. However, after the creation of its task force, dengue cases in the area significantly declined.
Babante said the activation of the task force has made dengue prevention programs more effective at the community level. She added that barangays would no longer rely solely on the CHO, which often resulted in delayed interventions.
She reported that only 72 out of the city’s 182 barangays currently have an active barangay mosquito-borne disease task force.
Babante also said that, through the office’s initiative, two barangays are scheduled to meet with CHO this February for the creation of their own task forces. She encouraged all barangays that do not yet have one to establish their own mosquito-borne disease task force.
She added that their office is currently crafting a letter for the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), requesting the issuance of a memorandum requiring all barangays to establish a dengue task force while the amendment of the ordinance is being processed.
The components of a barangay mosquito-borne disease task force include the barangay captain, chairperson on health, kagawad on environment and sanitation, health staff, barangay functionaries, Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) members, and private partners.
No to chemical interventions
Babante said that with the activation of the barangay task force, the office is now urging the public to avoid chemical interventions such as fogging and misting, which may cause mosquitoes to develop chemical resistance over time, making these methods ineffective.
“Mao na amoang (gi-suggest) na environmental strategy na amoang gina-advocate sa community na dili ta mag-rely sa fogging, misting, and spraying (That is why this is the environmental strategy we are promoting in the community, that we should not rely on fogging, misting, and spraying),” she said.
She said the best way to combat dengue is through the search-and-destroy method, which involves cleaning areas where mosquitoes usually stay and lay eggs. This prevents mosquitoes from multiplying, resulting in a decreased number of dengue cases. RGP