In pursuit to the National Rabies Prevention and Control Program, which is Rabies Free Philippines by 2020, the Municipality of Villasis in cooperation withthe Department of Health Regional Office I and our Provincial Health Office (PHO),spearheaded a stakeholders meeting held last March 16, 2017 at our Villasis Auditorium to discuss actions regarding rabies prevention and control.
Ruby Doria, program implementer for rabies campaign of PHO, provided objectives to rabies campaign in our province. Doria said that we need to decrease the incidence of animal bite cases to 10% (2016 cases is 35, 906) as well as to decrease the mortality rate of human rabies from 16 of 2016 to 12 this 2017.
In addition, EmieLicudo, our District Supervisor, disclosed that despite the rigorous campaign of our Province, Pangasinan is still one of the provinces with the highest cases of rabies. Moreover, in 2015, Villasis had two cases of rabies death, from Barangay Barangobong and Barangay Lomboy.
Further, Our Municipal Agriculture Officer, Mr. Reynaldo Mundo added that we rigorously pushing for a rabies-free community in our municipality. We are continuously vaccinating dogs in our community and all except for three (3) barangays were finished with the said vaccination added by Mr. Mundo.
Together with the Barangay Captains and their Kagawad on Health and with the guide of our Municipal Mayor Nonato S. Abrenica, they have come up with an agreement to further eradicate if not, to minimize cases of animal bite in our municipality. The agreement contains the following: (1) the accreditation of our Animal Bite Center, (2) Barangay Ordinance should be localized with the National Ordinance (R.A. 9482), (3) Masterlisting of dogs with the help of our Barangay Health Workers, Barangay Officials, and our Municipal Department of Agriculture, (4) Responsible pet ownership should be implemented, if violated, penalties shall be served, and (5) Strict implementation of adapted ordinance.
With all this efforts and R.A 9482, our Municipality shall exercise its power to promote health and safety of the people in our community.