Calamity status on AGE, cholera still in place – mayor

By John Noel E. Herrera

Despite the decline in cases of cholera and acute gastroenteritis (AGE), Iloilo City Mayor Jerry P. Treñas said that they could not yet lift the state of calamity as the city government did not receive any recommendation from the Iloilo City Health Office (ICHO) and City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (CDRRMO).

In a press conference on Monday, Nov 7, 2022, Treñas also said that they still need to observe the situation as the recent flooding in the city brought about by Severe Tropical Storm Paeng might again contaminate the water sources in different barangays.

“Waay kita recommendation (from ICHO or CDRRMO to lift the calamity status) kay ti bal-an niyo sang ligad lang nga bagyo (Paeng) nagbaha naman to, ang mga bubon to nga gin chlorinate na naton, balik naman kita nga ma-chlorinate naman, so bantay lang kita,” the mayor said

Treñas also emphasized the importance of being “very proactive” as other Local Government Units (LGUs) are having problems with their water sources and continuously battling AGE and cholera outbreaks.

“Kita niyo may iban nga mga LGU nga gaproblema man sang ila tubi, may nagakalapatay sa ila, ti aton ya we became very proactive,” Treñas said.

“We knew from the start that this was affecting not only Iloilo, but the other LGUs, pero t ang iban ya hipos-hipos lang sila, kita ya nag declare kita state of calamity, nag -usar kita portion sang calamity fund, and we continue to vaccinate… daw maubos na to ang gin hatag sang MetroPac (Metro Pacific Iloilo Water), ang aton nga gin-bakal manug-abot naman.” he added.

ICHO head Dr. Annabelle Tang also said earlier that they cannot lift nor can they give assurance when they will lift the calamity status as the case movement is still unstable.

ICHO also acknowledged that the current cases are not that high compared to September.

However, they still need to make sure that the cases start to ‘steadily go down’, and those affected barangays will have their own improved water and waste systems to ensure safe access to potable water before planning to lift the calamity status.

Data from ICHO as of Nov 7 also indicated that Iloilo City has already logged 1,035 AGE cases, but 97 percent, or 1,005 cases, have already recovered, while 16 are still under treatment, and 14 died.

There are also 39 confirmed cholera cases in the city, and all of them have already been discharged and have recovered.

ICHO was also able to administer the first dose of the oral vaccine against cholera to 305 residents and its second dose to 167 residents.

The vaccines were only given to adults and children aged over one-year-old who have already recovered from cholera, their close contacts, and those who were sourcing water from deep wells which tested positive for cholera.

The city government declared a state of calamity due to AGE and cholera during the initial surge in cases in September 2022.