By Carmela Martinez and Jean Fernando The city of Parañaque has been placed in a state of calamity on Monday due to the rise of dengue cases. According to a health advisory issued by the Parañaque City Health Office, the City Epidemiology Surveillance Unit (CESU) confirmed their epidemic status. Paranaque City Administrator Fernando ‘Ding’ Soriano said the declaration was approved upon the assessment of the City Risk Reduction and Management Council (CRRMC). The dengue cases increased from 1,174 to 1,702 from January 1 to September 14, 2019. Out of the 16 barangays in the city, 15 were affected by the dengue outbreak with Barangay San Martin de Pores as the only one unaffected. Soriano said there were already four reported deaths of dengue since the start of the year up to the present with a recent one on September 21. “Very alarming na ito at kinakailangan nang mag state of calamity na ang lungsod at out of 16 barangays ay isa lang ang hindi naapektuhan ng dengue,” Soriano said. Soriano said they are continuously monitoring the 15 affected barangays and has promised to control it before it spreads further. The health advisory also said that the city will implement the enhanced 4-S campaign against dengue of the Department of Health (DOH), which stands for: Search and destroy mosquito-breeding sites; Secure self-protection measures; Seek early consultation; and Support fogging/spraying of the hotspot areas. “The enhanced 4-S implementation calls for everyone to become prime movers in controlling mosquito population and avoiding any possible dengue deaths within the community,” said Parañque City Mayor Edwin Olivares in a Facebook post containing the city health advisory. The city ranked fourth among the cities in Metro Manila with a high number of dengue cases.