Mayor Benjamin Magalong on Friday reminded residents anew to abide by the “Tapat Mo, Linis Mo” ordinance by keeping their surroundings clean, especially with dengue still posing a threat to the city.

“Dapat lahat tayo nagtutulungan, hindi lang barangay officials. Nakakalungkot na laging naglilinis ang gobyerno at barangay pero walang disiplina ang mga residente ay wala tayong patutunguhan. Nakakahiya na (Everyone should contribute in keeping the city clean. It is saddening to know that the local government always cleans up but residents are still undisciplined. This is going nowhere. This is embarassing),” the mayor said in a media interview.

The mayor conducted an ocular inspection of tributaries of the Sagudin Creek that traverses Barangay Cabinet Hill and the Teachers Camp, and found garbage draining to the Balili River in nearby La Trinidad, Benguet.

Aside from the ordinance, the mayor has repeatedly issued an executive order for the regular village-wide clean-up drive every Thursday to destroy mosquito breeding grounds.

The Department of Health (DOH)-Cordillera said Baguio City has recorded a 121-percent increase in dengue cases in 2022 from 2021.

The city logged 2,954 cases and five deaths from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2022, compared to the 1,334 cases and nine deaths in the previous year.

Alexander Baday, an entomologist at the DOH-Cordillera, said dengue has become a seasonless illness affecting people of all ages, regardless of sex.

He warned the public that dengue-carrying mosquitoes thrive even in small amounts of stagnant water. (PNA)