BONTOC, Mountain Province – The provincial board approved a resolution declaring the province under a state of calamity following the reported surge in the number of dengue fever cases for the first seven and a half months needing the implementation of appropriate preventive measures from concerned government agencies and the provincial government to prevent the possible outbreak of the dreaded illness.
Resolution No. 2019-325 declared the province in a state of calamity upon the recommendation of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC) because of the reported significant increase in the number of dengue cases provincewide coupled with the pre-disaster risk assessment on the visit of previous weather disturbances in the province.
The PDRRMC recommended the declaration of the province in a state of calamity to ensure the immediate implementation of necessary measures to prevent the alarming increase in dengue cases provincewide over the past several months
Earlier, Gov. Bonifacio C. Lacwasan, Jr. informed the provincial board that the provincial health office reported based on its periodic monitoring on dengue that there were 503 cases with 2 dengue-related deaths recorded from January to August this year compared to the 117 cases with 2 deaths reported during the same period last year which represents a 232 percent increase in dengue cases in the province.
The board stated, considering the urgent nature of the matter that involves the health and lives of the people provincewide, the Sangguniang Panlalawigan is compelled to adopt the recommendation of the PDRRMC to declare the province under a state of calamity to allow the provincial government to access the funds for the immediate implementation of measures to curb the escalation of dengue fever cases that compromises the state of health in the province.
Under the provisions of Republic Act (RA) 10121 or the Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010, local governments are mandated to allocate at least 5 percent of their annual budget primarily for disaster risk reduction and management programs that will translate to the safety of their constituents wherein 70 percent of the same will be used to fund the implementation of prevention, mitigation and rehabilitation measures while 30 percent will be apportioned for quick response to mitigate the effects of the onslaught of natural and man-made disasters in their areas of jurisdiction.
Lacwasan expressed his gratitude to the members of the provincial legislative body for their prompt action on the PDRRMC recommendation to declare the province under a state of calamity so that the provincial government could immediately access the required funds for the adoption of mitigating measures to help in preventing the further increase of dengue cases in the different parts of the province.
He asserted the need for the health personnel province-wide to institute a massive information and education campaign to guide the people on how to help prevent the increase in dengue virus-carrying mosquitoes in their homes that attract people and avert the onset of illness the soonest. By HENT
