Imminent danger declared
IN BACOLOD
BY CHRYSEE SAMILLANO

“We will of course vigorously defend ourselves when we are given an opportunity by the Sandiganbayan.”

This was the reaction of Sugar Regulatory Administrator Rafael “Lito” Coscolluela, former governor of Negros Occidental, to reports in the national media yesterday that the office of the Ombudsman filed graft charges against him and four others on Monday.

They were charged for buying allegedly overpriced medical and farm equipment worth P20 million in 2001 from a supplier without any license from the Bureau of Food and Drugs in 2001, the reports said.

The number of Influenza A(H1N1) cases in Western Visayas rose to eight yesterday, with a 1-year-old Japanese boy who arrived in Talisay City, Negros Occidental, confirmed to be positive for the virus, Health Regional Director Ariel Valencia said yesterday.

The 1-year-old who has a Japanese father and Filipina mother arrived in the Philippines from Japan on June 11, manifested influenza-like illness on June 13, and was admitted to a private hospital in Bacolod City on June 16,  a DOH Region 6 report said.

The boy has recovered and is believed to have returned to Japan yesterday.

There were 165 dengue cases in Negros Occidental from January to May 30 this year, or 58 percent below the 406 during the same period last year, Dr. Luisa Efren, provincial health officer, said yesterday.

She said one dengue fatality was reported this year, compared to four in the same period  in 2008.

However, Efren stressed the need to remain vigilant against dengue, pointing out that it is more dangerous than Influenza A(H1N1). If you look at the mode of transmission you can get dengue through the bite of infected mosquitoes that can be everywhere.