IN the wake of numerous pertussis outbreaks declared locally, the Department of Health (DOH) yesterday urged local government units (LGUs) to go slow in declaring a state of calamity whenever they see a surge in diseases in their respective areas.
In a televised public briefing, DOH spokesman Dr. Albert Domingo said it is not always necessary to declare a state of calamity whenever an unusual number of illnesses are recorded in an area.
“We have heard this during the pertussis outbreaks, our LGUs have been declaring (state of calamity). (But) it would not make sense to declare an entire province as having an outbreak if cases are only seen in some barangays,” said Domingo.
“The declaration will come from the LGUs but their basis must have scientific evidence,” he also said, adding that the declaration has positive and negative effects on the “lives of people and in the local market.”
The health official said even the reason of getting access to calamity funds is not enough to make such a declaration as emergency procurement can be done even if a place is not placed under a state of calamity.
“In such a situation, where you are about to enter a state of calamity but is not there yet, you can use that as basis for emergency procurement,” he said.
Instead of immediately declaring a state of calamity, Domingo said LGUs should concentrate more on how to respond to the outbreaks.
“If the outbreak can be controlled and immunization can be done by the LGU, that would be a better response instead of declaring a state of calamity,” he said.
