CBCP: Churches should be included in anti-dengue drive

MANILA, Philippines - An official of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) yesterday said that they are asking the barangays to also include the parishes in their anti-dengue campaign.

CBCP Public Affairs Committee (PAC) chairman Kalookan Bishop Deogracias Iñiguez is asking the barangays to include the parishes in its dengue drive.

It would be a good idea to include the parishes in its anti-dengue campaign, such as conducting fogging operations, since it is a place of worship often visited by people especially during Sunday mass.

He believes that the parish priests, who are aware of the dengue problem in the country, would support the barangay-led initiative. “The parish priests would be happy.”

The Department of Health (DOH) reported that from the period of Jan. 1 to Aug. 14, there were some 54,659 dengue cases that were recorded nationwide. This is 74.9 percent higher than the 31,248 cases reported during the same period of 2009.

It also reported an increase in the number of deaths from 327 in 2009 to 429 of the same period this year. 

One way to combat the disease, Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales said, is to have a clean environment. He called on the people to clean their surroundings to eradicate possible breeding grounds of dengue-carrier mosquitoes.