BY GILBERT P. BAYORAN / CHRYSEE G. SAMILLANO
Amidst rising dengue cases, Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson yesterday said that there is no need to declare the province under a state of calamity.
When you declare a state of calamity, it gives you access to more funds, Lacson said. But he added that there is still P3 million in the regular budget of PHO specifically for dengue. That is the budget that we are using now, he further said.
After his meeting with Provincial Health Officer Dr. Ernell Tumimbang, Lacson said he was told that dengue cases in Negros Occidental still cannot be considered as endemic.
He added that local government units should also put up a budget to take care of the dengue problem, not just the province.
Dengue cases in Negros Occidental were recorded at 1,869 cases over the past six months of the year, with 10 deaths, which is an increase of 777 percent compared to the 233 cases in the same period the previous year.
Lacson said the provincial government also decided to initiate the effort by taking a lead in going down to the LGUs that have high cases of dengue.
He added that they will also set up a team for the clean-up drive, including the use of larvicide and implement fogging operations, if needed.
The top 10 LGUs, in terms of number of dengue cases are Himamaylan City, Kabankalan City, La Carlota City, Hinigaran, San Carlos City, Bago City, Binalbagan, Pontevedra, Cadiz City and Cauayan, PHO records show.
The dengue attack rate of the province was registered at 78.1 cases per 100,000 of the total population, with La Carlota City having the highest attack rate at 23.5 cases per 100,000 of the total LGU population, PHO records further showed.
7 DEATHS IN BACOLOD
In Bacolod City, the total reported cases of dengue rose to 345 as of July 9 while the total number of dengue-related deaths increased to seven.
The latest victim is from Barangay Granada while previously reported deaths are from Singcang, Pahanocoy, Sum-ag, Tangub with one death each and Mansilingan with 2.
The total dengue cases this year is 202.6 percent higher than the cases last year, which was 114 with two deaths.
The barangays with the highest cases are with Tangub and Mansilingan with 31 cases each, Estefania – 27, Taculing and Singcang – 26 each, Sum ag – 25, Alijis – 21, Villamonte -20, Mandalagan- 19, and Handumanan and Granada with 16 each.*
