ZAMBOANGA CITY – The City Council here has sought the assistance of a chemist in Region 9 office of the Department of Science and Technology (DoST 9) to conduct studies on how effective an “in-organic fertilizer” can allegedly kill mosquito larva.

Sonny Rumata, a resident of Barangay Recodo in this city, formally introduced the in-organic fertilizer during the City Council session the other day as one of the solutions to free the city residents from dengue.

“Mosquitoes are even prevented from coming back to a breeding site once it will be mixed with the powder-form fertilizer called Eco-Lite,” Rumata claimed.

Councilor Lilia Nuño immediately brought a sample of Eco-Lite fertilizer to the D oST 9 here for them to examine and find out if it contains substances that can harm the environment and human health.
But Rumata said he has been using Eco-Lite fertilizer in his farm for the past several years now and has not noticed any negative effect on the environment.

Rumata claimed to have seen mosquito larva died when mixed with the fertilizer.

“This is not a chemical to kill mosquito larva,” he said.

Rumata introduced the in-organic fertilizer after the City Council was discussing possible measures to eradicate dengue-carrying mosquitoes.

Nuño also informed DoST 9 officials here that the council has also adopted a resolution seeking the DoST assistance for the conduct of a separate study on the herbal plant locally called “tawa-tawa,” which many have been claiming to be very effective in curing dengue disease.

City Councilor Eduardo Saavedra, who was a dengue patient, even brought a bottle of water already boiled with tawa-tawa roots during the council’s session.