Lawmaker donates P6 million for anti-dengue, medical programs

MANILA, Philippines - A party-list representative contributed yesterday P6 million for actress Kris Aquino’s anti-dengue campaign and other medical programs of state hospitals and the Department of Health (DOH) using his pork barrel funds.

Ang Kasangga party-list Rep. Teodorico Haresco said he has allocated P1 million from the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) to help the anti-dengue campaign of the DOH in Region VI.

He said the allocation is in response to the call of DOH Anti-Dengue Ambassador Kris Aquino for all Filipinos to join hands in fighting the mosquito-borne scourge which has so far stricken 12,000 elementary students since January, resulting in 117 fatalities.

“The allocation represents the strong support of Kasangga to the anti-dengue drive campaign of Ms. Aquino,” Haresco said.

A sister of President Aquino, Kris had been named anti-dengue ambassador because of her deep involvement in the campaign against the disease. Her sons Joshua and Baby James both had dengue last year.

He said the P1 million is part of his P6-million PDAF for fiscal year 2010-2011, which he allocated for the use of the DOH.

The remaining P5 million is broken down as follows: P2 million for the Philippine General Hospital; and P1 million each for the National Kidney and Transplant Institute, the Philippine Heart Center and the Lung Center of the Philippines.

Haresco wrote Health Secretary Enrique Ona and Undersecretary Alex Padilla last Sept. 13 to inform them of the allocations.

“It is very alarming that the cases of dengue in recent months have increased dramatically. There have been 11,896 cases of dengue as of Aug. 21 this year,” he said in his letter to Ona.

“This figure is 282 percent higher than last year’s 3,116 for the same period. Moreover, there were 69 deaths recorded, while in 2009 there were only 55,” he said.

The lawmaker identified the provinces with the highest number of cases as Negros Occidental with 3,158 cases, 20 deaths; Iloilo with 2,915 cases and 15 deaths; and Capiz with 2,315 cases with nine deaths.

“Given these statistics, it is undeniable that dengue has affected the lives of the people in Region VI. Therefore, it is imperative for the government to put together efficient and effective solutions in order to fight this epidemic,” Haresco said.

He urged the government and the private sector to join forces and help fight the spread of dengue.

Earlier, the DOH said since the start of the year, 501 of the 69,000 people stricken with dengue had died from the disease.