Dengue cases 2,954 in Baguio; execs ink pact

By Gaby B. Keith

BAGUIO CITY -- The City Council passed resolution 255-23, authorizing Mayor Benjamin Magalong representing the City Government of Baguio to enter into memorandum of agreement with the Dept. of Health Center for Health Development-Cordillera Administrative Region relative to the city's anti-dengue program and for the transfer and allocation of funds in the amount of P40,000,000. Considered by the local legislature was the letter dated April 24, 2023 of the mayor requesting for authority to enter into MoA with the DOH CHD-CAR and for the transfer and allocation of the funds for the city's anti-dengue program.
    The approved measure said Dengue is the fastest-spreading vector-borne disease in the world that is endemic in 100 countries.
    The DoH has launched the National Dengue Prevention and Control Program with the vision of "a dengue-free Philippines" and a goal of "reducing the burden of dengue disease," it stated.
    The resolution said Summer Capital logged 2,954 dengue cases and five deaths in 2022 or a 121 percent increase of cases as compared to 2021. Under the General Appropriations Act for the year 2023, the national government through the DoH allotted P40,000,000 for Baguio's Prevention and Control of Communicable Diseases-Aedes Borne-Viral Disease Prevention and Control Program, it added.
    The resolution stated the MoA be submitted to the City Council for confirmation.