By Christopher Lloyd Caliwan/Philippine News Agency
MANILA — The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) on Wednesday urged local government units (LGUs) and barangays to mobilize residents to undertake clean-up drives to destroy all mosquito-breeding areas and stop the spread of dengue.
Interior Secretary Eduardo M. Año made the remarks after the Department of Health (DOH) declared a national dengue alert, as he appealed to the LGUs to maintain a clean environment to prevent the incidence of water-borne diseases, especially during the rainy season.
“Lahat tayo ay magtulong-tulong at kumilos na. Huwag nating iasa na lang sa gobyerno ang paglilinis at pagsisinop sa ating mga kapaligiran para maiwasan ang (Let us all join hands and work together. Let us not rely on the government alone in cleaning and making our surroundings pleasant in order to stop the spread of) dengue,” he said in a statement.
He also urged LGUs to remove stagnant water in their areas, which serves as breeding ground of mosquitoes.
The DILG chief specifically enjoined LGUs to coordinate with DOH representatives in identifying breeding areas and steps to take in the safe and effective containment of the mosquito population.
“The alarming increase of dengue cases in several areas should prompt LGUs to act now and act fast in arresting the spread of dengue in their respective areas. We should not allow dengue to debilitate our communities,” Año said.
“We must increase our efforts in addressing the dengue infection especially during this rainy season when cases are expected to rise,” he added.
On Monday, the health department issued a national dengue alert after cases of the disease peaked to more than 100,000 as of June.
The DOH identified regions with raised dengue alerts exceeding the epidemic threshold are Mimaropa (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, and Palawan), Western Visayas (Region 6), Central Visayas (Region 7), and Northern Mindanao (Region 10).
Meanwhile, the Ilocos region (Region 1), Cagayan Valley (Region 2), Calabarzon (Region 4-A), Bicol region (Region 5), Eastern Visayas (Region 8), Zamboanga Peninsula (Region 9), Davao Region (Region 11), Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), and the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) are identified as regions that have exceeded the alert threshold.
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