Philippine Red Cross (PRC) Chairman Richard Gordon ordered the immediate deployment of emergency medical tents to assist in the overflow of patients in Iloilo due to rising dengue cases at the request of Department of Health (DOH).

Earlier this week, Gordon received a request from DOH Secretary Francisco Duque III to support the government’s efforts to address the rising health concern, especially in Western Visayas, where an outbreak has been declared.

Four sets of emergency medical tents were deployed from PRC warehouse in Subic and expected to arrive in Iloilo via ferry on Saturday, while another four sets will be deployed via C130 on Sunday.

“PRC’s medical tents will help decongest the overloaded wards and provide comfort to the patients and their families. Similar to how we addressed the measles crisis earlier this year, we will continue to work with DOH to identify and fill the needs in the most affected communities,” Gordon said.

He added that PRC is ready to deploy more tents in Western Visayas if the need arises.

Aside from deploying medical tents, PRC also ensures availability of blood supply for dengue patients in its blood center in Iloilo and nearby blood service facilities.  PRC ambulances and welfare desks are also ready.

PRC’s community health volunteers also intensified its information dissemination drives to encourage Filipino families to do the 4S of dengue prevention—search and destroy, self-protect, seek early consultation, and say yes to fogging.

“Dengue destruction should be done before it started. Let’s observe proper personal hygiene and keep our surroundings clean to steer away from these diseases,” Gordon added.