Baguio City Anti-Dengue Committee reconstituted, P40M funds allotted
With the onset of the rainy season and expected rise in Dengue cases, the Baguio City Anti-Dengue committee |(BCADC) has been reconstituted, with a P40M fund from the Department of Health (DOH) allocated for anti-dengue programs.
The committee reconstitution with the assignment of duties and functions of each BCADC member was done during a meeting presided by HSO head Dr. Celia Flor Brillantes at the Health Services Office last week. Councilor Betty Lourdes Tabanda, committee chair for sanitation and health, ecology and environmental concerns was present during the meeting.
The BCADC shall enforce the Anti-Dengue Ordinance, prepare plans and programs; conduct health, information and education campaigns (IEC) for the community as a whole, prepare whole year-round anti-dengue activities, coordinate regularly with the barangays and government agencies for dengue prevention, control, reduction and mitigation programs.
Surveillance, monitoring and evaluation, meetings for planning and coordination to implement Dengue prevention and control programs shall also be done by the committee.
The Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP), City Legal Office (CLO), Baguio City Police Office (BCPO), as members of the BCADC makes sure of compliance to the Anti-Dengue ordinance.
Other BCADC members are the HSO, Association of Barangay Captains (ABC) President; City Building Architecture Official (CBAO), City Engineers’ Office (CEO), City Environment and Parks Management Office (CEPMO), and City General Services Officer (GSO), City Social Welfare and Development Officer (CSWDO), Department of Health (DOH-CAR), Department of Education (Dep-Ed), Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), with function to focus on all anti-Dengue programs and Dengue prevention through sanitation, physical and structural cleanliness in the schools, households, community; and with collaborative efforts with the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), non-government and peoples organizations, the academe, and other concerned sectors.
Committee members Philippine Information Agency and Public Information Office are responsible for IEC for Baguio constituents, the region and the public as a whole, through quad-media regarding dengue and anti-dengue plans and programs.
As for the P40M, the amount is for the city’s anti-dengue plans, for implementation through the Health Services Office, the program to run from June 2023 to Dec. 2024.
The amount is for the purchase of larvicides for the barangays, contract of services for manpower to prepare, implement, study and evaluate dengue prevention programs, purchase of vehicles for mobilization and fuel.
Microscopes, paraphernalia for specimen collection, uniforms and PPEs, coordinating meetings and capability building activities are allotted from said fund.
Assistance from local and other sources shall also be paid from the DOH allotted fund.
The city council through a resolution has earlier authorized Mayor Benjamin Magalong to enter into a Memorandum of Agreement for the P40M fund transfer and allocation from the DOH. The funding is part of DOH’s National Disease Prevention Program with a vision for a “dengue-free Philippines.” – JGFianza
