CLEANUP. Barangay residents of Idio village in the municipality of Sebaste carry out the 4 o'clock habit of cleaning their surroundings in this undated photo. Idio Barangay Chairperson Pamela Socorro Azucena, the provincial Liga ng mga Barangay president, said on Friday (June 17, 2022) that village chiefs should rally their constituents to do a cleanup drive against dengue. (Photo courtesy of LnB Antique)
SAN JOSE DE BUENAVISTA, Antique – Barangay officials in the province of Antique will be strengthening the implementation of the 4 o’clock habit in their areas to prevent the further rise of dengue cases.
“There is a memorandum order already by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) for us to implement the Aksyon Barangay Kontra Dengue that we need to strengthen the 4 o’clock habit of cleaning the surroundings,” said Liga ng mga Barangay (LnB) president Pamela Socorro Azucena on Friday.
Azucena added that barangay chairpersons will have to rally their constituents to carry the environmental cleanliness even just in their backyards every afternoon so that dengue-carrying mosquitoes will not thrive.
Since June is Dengue Awareness Month they also need to conduct house-to-house and mobile information drives in their barangays to increase prevention awareness.
In Barangay Idio, Sebaste, where Azucena serves as barangay captain, there are already seven cases of dengue that were reported despite efforts to clean the surroundings.
Azucena said she is currently coordinating with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to check on the status of their box culvert where it is believed to have stagnant waters serving as the breeding ground for dengue mosquitoes.
Meanwhile, DILG Antique provincial director Cherryl Tacda said the cleanliness drive is not only the responsibility of barangay officials.
“Everyone in the community should be involved in the clean-up drive considering that dengue could affect anybody,” she added.
Tacda said barangay officials cannot do much in curbing dengue cases if their constituents would not do their part.
Based on the latest available report from the Integrated Provincial Health Office, Antique has 777 cases and four deaths from January 1 to June 11 this year. (PNA)
