THE Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has implemented intervention works to “prevent and control” a dengue outbreak along national roads and construction campsites, a Cabinet official said on Tuesday.
Public Works Secretary Mark A. Villar said his group has “cleaned, cleared, de-silted, and unclogged culverts and canals with a total of 4.5 million linear meters in 2018 and 2.4 million linear meters from January to June 2019 in different areas nationwide.”
“Addressing this mosquito-borne viral infection requires a collective effort and that’s why we in the DPWH are doing all the necessary actions to ensure that communities along national roads, bridges, and construction sites are safe from the risk of dengue by clearing and declogging open canals, drainages, inlets, gutters, and box culverts on an average of two to three times a year,” Villar said.
He added that aside from this, the agency helped in rehabilitating Manila Bay, dredging 1.4 million cubic meters of waste materials, debris and sediments in the National Capital Region (NCR), Regions 3 and 4A.
The public works department, under a presidential order in 1996, is mandated to help prevent stagnant water in canals and major water arteries, to ensure construction sites will not serve as breeding grounds for mosquitoes, and to provide proper drainage of streets to mitigate flooding and formation of mud and water puddles.
To ensure its implementation, Villar also issued a memorandum to all regional directors and district engineers, reiterating the need for strict compliance with the conduct of dengue preventive measures in their jurisdictions.
Image credits: Roy Domingo
