3ID kicks-off OPLAN Kontra Dengue cleanliness drive in Region 6
 ROTC
and NSTP students from WVCST in Iloilo City listen to a briefing given
by the DOH-CHD 6 during the kick-off ceremony of the 3ID's OPLAN Kontra
Dengue in Bo Obrero, Lapaz, Iloilo City.
Division Public Affairs Office, Camp Peralta, Jamindan, Capiz - In
partnership with the Department of Health - Center for Health
Development (DOH-CHD) VI, the Philippine Army's 3rd Infantry Division
initiated a community clean-up drive as a kick-off ceremony for an
anti-dengue campaign dubbed Oplan Kontra Dengue, which is scheduled to
run every weekend for the next six weeks.
"There is an immediate need to stop the spread of dengue virus," so says
Maj General Vicente M Porto, commander of the 3ID. "We wanted to engage
not only our soldiers but our youth as well in the fight against dengue
in Western Visayas. And this was a good opportunity to bring everyone
together to address this persistent threat," he added.
According to 3ID public information officer 1Lt Mark Andrew Posadas, the
clean-up drive had Barrio Obrero as its first target area because of the
high incidence of dengue in the said village. In fact, records from the
DOH-CHD 6 showed that 7 deaths attributed to complications of dengue
happened in the area.
The activity also saw the participation of the Rotary Club of Iloilo
City which provided cleaning materials to more than 500 ROTC and NSTP
students who performed the clean-up drive. The students are from the
Western Visayas College of Science and Technology, University of Iloilo,
Central Philippine University, University of the Philippines-Visayas,
Western Institute of Technology and West Visayas State University-Pototan
Campus.
"It is the first time that we did this sort of activity in such a
large-scale. We saw an immediate need to act because of the upsurge of
cases in the area. We thought that it would be a good activity for our
ROTC and NSTP students to actively participate in the government’s
program to fight the spread of dengue because it allows them to develop
an attitude of social responsibility to our fellow citizens threatened
by this spread of disease," Posadas said.
Meanwhile, Dr. Fabian Mabasa, Regional Dengue/Malaria Coordinator of the
Department of Health Region VI, also called on the people of Western
Visayas, to rally behind the government to stop the spread of the dengue
virus. He claimed that more than anything else, prevention is still
better than cure.
Consequently, Posadas said that the Phil. Army is preparing for an even
bigger activity next week. "We scheduled a fun run this upcoming
Saturday, August 28, wherein an estimated attendance of two thousand
participants from the NSTP and ROTC students, Phil. Army soldiers, the
DOH, and civilian partners will take part. This is in line with getting
our youth and our soldiers involved in trying to wipe out dengue in
Western Visayas," Posadas added.
According to Colonel Daniel Dela Cruz, Group Commander of the 6th RCDG
of the Philippine Army, "We expect to replicate these activities
spearheaded by our youth in the ROTC and NSTP in other areas of Region
6. We will also mobilize our Reservists in the different Community
Defense Group to assist in this massive clean-up and information drive."
In Iloilo, dengue hemorrhagic fever has taken the lives of 13 persons
with a total of 1,817 cases as of August 14. Last week, the Iloilo
Provincial Government announced that there will be a province-wide clean
up dubbed as "People Power Kontra sa Dengue" that will be held on Sept.
1, 2010. The Province of Capiz also launched a similar province-wide
clean-up campaign which started last August 20, 2010 wherein every
citizen is encouraged to clean up probable areas where mosquitoes
carrying dengue may thrive. In Bacolod City, a similar activity will
also be actively pursued by our Philippine Army and our Reservists.
Maj Gen Porto added that "We will continue with this program until we
see a significant reduction of dengue cases in the province. However,
this series of activities will of course not hamper our current internal
security operations. It is the fact that we have succeeded in reducing
the capabilities of the CPP-NPA in Panay that we can actively involve
ourselves in more socio-civic pursuits such as these."
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