MANILA, Philippines -- A resolution calling for a congressional inquiry into the rising dengue cases in the country has been filed at the House of Representatives.

House Resolution 668 that seeks to “protect and promote the right to health of the people and at the same time instill health consciousness among them” was initiated by ARC Partylist Representative Narciso Santiago.

Santiago noted that dengue cases in the Philippines went up to an all-time high of 45,350 in 2007.

But while the 2007 figures were the highest on record since 1992, the lawmaker said the 416 deaths in 2007 did not surpass the 514 deaths in 1998.

Santiago also expressed alarm over Department of Health reports that dengue had become a year round threat due to rising temperatures and the unpredictable weather.

"It is very apparent that the dengue problem can be at its worst this year due to the extended La Niña," he said in a statement on Wednesday.

Santiago acknowledged that this problem was not easy to resolve since dengue was considered as an environmental problem where community-level interventions did not succeed as they involved exterminating mosquitoes.

"DOH claimed that four types of dengue virus strains have been plaguing the country since 2004," he said.

This situation in the country, Santiago said, has resulted in at least 60 percent of patients suffering from hemorrhagic fever and an even larger number of deaths among children.