THE saying "Health is Wealth" means our health defines how wealthy we are.
But at the back of government officials up her in the Summer Capital, there seems to be a penchant for revenue rather than the community’s health.
Since January, Baguio City remains an area with highest prevalence of dengue cases in the Cordilleras. There were about 1,484 recorded cases with two deaths with 252 percent increase compared to last year’s 421 dengue cases of the same period.
Last year, the city was placed under yellow alert.
With the rapid increase of dengue cases this year, Baguio should have declared a state of calamity.
According to some members of the council, tourism remains top earner for Baguio and declaring such would affect the city’s tourism related establishment.
They fear tourists will no longer visit the city, just like what happened during when meningococcemia had an outbreak in 2005.
During the outbreak, shops and department stores had the leanest days with just a single or no purchase and hotel reservations’ were cancelled.
Health authorities have also stated there is no need to declare an outbreak as dengue cases are still manageable.
But how can authorities say it is still manageable when every week, there are dengue cases reported.
The city even issued an order to intensify dengue prevention in all areas. Misting were conducted in 30 barangays with high dengue prevalence. Students were also advised to wear long sleeve tops and long pants.
How is this situation not worthy of an outbreak declaration?
Although it can gravely affect the revenue of businesses and the city itself, isn’t it better to take care of the dengue case first before dealing with the decline on revenue.
It is sad to know that some politicians are putting more importance to businesses rather than the community’s wellbeing.
It’s because of the money. Ka-ching! Ka-ching!