City Council pushes no uniform policy vs dengue

By: Emme Rose Santiagudo

WILL the color of one’s clothing, especially among pupils and students, spell the difference between life and death?

For the Iloilo City Council, it is, especially with the surge in dengue cases.

The Sangguniang Panlungsod’s view is embodied in a resolution calling for the suspension of wearing of school uniforms in all grade levels of both public and private schools in the city as a protection from dengue-carrying mosquitoes.

The resolution was directed to the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and Department of Education (DepEd).

“Whereas, to protect the children, it is recommended that wearing of school uniform in all levels, both private and public be suspended and further recommended that students or pupils should wear jogging pants or long pants while in school, until the dengue cases in Iloilo City are controlled,” the resolution said.

According to proponent Councilor Lyndon Acap, they made the request to protect school children who are highly vulnerable to dengue.

“Target gid pirmi ang ila tiil tungod nga kis-a ang ila medyas bala short so ang ila nga tiil amo gina target sang lamok, and pati ang mga nagapalda mayo na lang nga ma-long pants sila or kung mag jogging pants para maproteksyuhan ila tiil,” he said.

While the request is not new since DepEd already issued a memorandum that wearing of school uniforms in public schools is optional, Acap said a more specific order should be released to avoid confusion.

“That is not new kay ang DepEd gali daw may ari naman sila order na optional ang pag-wear sang school uniform so para ma-avoid ang confusion, mayo na lang man na may order or ideclare na lang nila para once and for all, maproteksiyunan man naton ang kabataan sa mga lamok sa eskwelahan,” he said.

He added that the number of days for the suspension of wearing school uniforms will depend on the number of dengue cases in the metro.

“It depends on the proliferation sang dengue or massive attack sang dengue kun makita naton manubo na. It should be based on the result sang survey or cases and effect sang program naton diri sa city,” he said.

Last week, the SP placed Iloilo City under a state of calamity due to dengue.

Based on the data from the Iloilo City Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit, a total of 1, 119 dengue cases and nine deaths were recorded in the metro from January 1 to July 20, 2019.

The recorded cases were 462.3 percent higher compared to the cases recorded last year which only registered 198 cases with one death.

On July 30, 2019, the city recorded 31 new cases, according to the City Health Office (CHO).