Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said on Monday, July 18, that there is no need to declare a state of calamity to fight the rising dengue cases in Negros Occidental.
Lacson said he met with Dr. Ernell Tumimbang, provincial health officer, Monday, and he was informed that the dengue cases in the province cannot be considered endemic.
The Provincial Health Office (PHO) still has funds for the fight against dengue and local government units are also addressing the problem in their areas, Lacson said.
“When you declare a state of calamity it’s really to give you access to more funds. There is still P3 million in the regular budget of PHO specifically for dengue,” he said.
The dengue cases in the province are still manageable, Lacson also said.
The provincial government will take the lead in the fight against dengue, he said.
They will go down to the local government units that have high cases of dengue and push for cleanliness to prevent its spread, he said.
“We’re going to make noise in areas where the cases are high,” he said.
If there is a need for fogging and to distribute larvicide we will do that, too, Lacson added.
Negros Occidental has the highest number of dengue cases in Western Visayas this year at 1,869 or an increase by 777 percent compared to 2021, the DOH reported.
The province also has the highest number of dengue deaths in WV at ten this year.
The top five dengue hit areas in Negros Occidental are Himamaylan City, Kabankalan City, La Carlota City, Hinigaran and San Carlos City.*