President Aquino may OK dengue funds

President Benigno Aquino III said on Monday he may authorize local governments to use their calamity funds to fight dengue but only if there was a high incidence of the mosquito-borne disease in their areas.

Interviewed over RMN radio, the President said it was important to stress this requirement because dengue cases in the country were actually going down compared to last year.

Quoting statistics given to him by Health Secretary Enrique Ona, Mr. Aquino said dengue cases reached 50,000 in April last year but were down to 40,000 last April.

“So in a certain area, maybe we can authorize that (release of calamity funds), particularly where there is a spike in cases, but for areas where dengue cases have gone down drastically… that might become an issue,” the President said.

He said affected areas should clearly show that there is an emergency situation lest the Commission on Audit question the release of their calamity funds.