DILG orders cleanup drives to combat dengue on 2 weekends

MANILA, Philippines – Mindful of the persistent dengue threat, the Department of the Interior and Local Governments (DILG) called on governors, mayors, barangay (village) chiefs and local health officers to hold cleanup drives for two consecutive weekends beginning this Saturday (August 20).

Interior Secretary Jesse M. Robredo asked local chief executives to clean up their areas on August 20-21 and 27-28 in a bid to prevent the spread of dengue cases in the country.

In a directive, Robredo asked the local officials to conduct “search-and-destroy operations” of all potential breeding places of dengue-carrying mosquitoes in their areas of jurisdiction.

Local officials are also urged to dredge clogged canals and other waterways, prune thick bushes or tree branches, remove or drain receptacles containing stagnant water, and conduct massive information drive on environmental control of breeding sites especially in endemic areas.

Robredo issued the directive amid reports from the Department of Health that the number of dengue cases in the country, from January 1 to July 23, has reached 38,876. While the figure is 25.85 percent less than the number of cases in the same period in 2010, some 226 persons, mostly children, have died of dengue in 2011.

“Although [the number of] dengue cases reported this year is lower than the reported cases in 2010, we should maintain our efforts to fight against dengue outbreak in every part of the country,” Robredo said in a statement.

The secretary also encouraged the public to wear long-sleeved shirts and pants and use mosquito nets and repellents.

He stressed the need for coordinated efforts among all concerned government agencies and local government units to lessen the prevalence of the mosquito-borne diseases in the country.

At the same time, Robredo ordered members of the DILG Regional Management Coordinating Committee to ensure that their field officers would actively participate in the clean-up efforts in their areas.