ILOILO – The Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) in Iloilo has called on all elected officials, from the municipal to the barangay level, including local health boards, Barangay Health Emergency Response Teams (BHERTs), and Barangay Health Workers (BHWs), to take immediate action in reducing dengue cases.
On August 19, DILG-Iloilo Provincial Director Engr. Carmelo Orbista issued a memorandum addressed to city and municipal mayors, barangay captains, local health boards, BHERTs, and BHWs, urging them to assist the Iloilo provincial government in combating the continuous rise of dengue cases.
Citing data from the Iloilo Provincial Health Office (IPHO), Orbista emphasized the urgent need for enhanced health measures to address the outbreak. He referred to Section 16 of the Local Government Code, which mandates Local Government Units (LGUs) to promote the health and safety of their communities.
“In light of this, all City and Municipal Mayors, Punong Barangays, BHERTS, BHWs, Cluster Heads, and City/Municipal Local Government Operations Officers (C/MLGOOs) are urged and encouraged to mobilize and conduct necessary activities to mitigate, prevent, and reduce the incidence and severity of these diseases,” the memorandum stated.
The directive emphasizes the importance of ensuring uninterrupted health services and preparing barangays as frontline entities. The memorandum calls for enhanced surveillance, community engagement, health campaigns, and proper resource allocation to effectively address the current health challenges and safeguard public well-being.
On Tuesday, August 20, during a regular session, the 14th Sangguniang Panlalawigan approved the declaration of a state of calamity in Iloilo province due to the dengue outbreak. This declaration allows the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC) to utilize the P13.6 million calamity fund for dengue response efforts.
The fund will cover the purchase of IV fluids for district hospitals, totalling P3 million, and P5.6 million allocated for knapsack sprayers to be distributed across 43 municipalities, including Passi City, for chemical spraying operations.
Additionally, P2 million will be spent on dengue test kits, and another P3 million on chemicals for spraying.
Since the start of the year, the province has recorded a significant increase in dengue cases, with 5,836 instances and 10 deaths reported from January 1 to August 17, 2024. This represents a 418 percent increase compared to the same period in 2023, which saw only 1,127 cases with one death.
Municipalities with the highest dengue cases so far are the following: Passi City (437 cases with one death), Oton (300), Calinog (238), Janiuay (231), Dumangas (231), Dingle (227 cases with one death), Lambunao (216 cases with one death), Barotac Nuevo (203 cases with one death), Badiangan (183 cases with two deaths), and Leon (180).
The 33 other municipalities with cases are: Miag-ao (164 cases with two deaths), San Dionisio (164), Santa Barbara (160), Barotac Viejo (156), Pavia (153), Lemery (149), Tigbauan (149), Sara (147), Igbaras (146 cases with one death), Alimodian (138), Cabatuan (136), Pototan (134), Dueñas (125), Banate (124 cases with one death), San Miguel (110), Batad (108), Ajuy (100), San Joaquin (90), San Enrique (86), Mina (85), Estancia (83), Balasan (79), Leganes (75), Bingawan (73), Maasin (67), Zarraga (67), Concepcion (65), Anilao (61), Guimbal (58), Carles (45), Tubungan (43), San Rafael (27), and New Lucena (23).
As for dengue fatalities, the IPHO recorded the following:
* six years old, male from Miag-ao
* 16 years old, female from Miag-ao
* four years old, male from Lambunao
* 15 years old, male from Badiangan
* 20 years old, male from Badiangan
* 20 years old, male from Dingle
* eight years old, female from Igbaras
* 41 years old, female from Barotac Nuevo
* three years old, female from Banate
* 10 years old, male from Passi City/PN
