A Mandaluyong barangay’s anti-dengue initiative – May Piso Sa Mosquito (Mosquito for a Peso) – has sparked controversy on social media.
The city’s Brgy. Addition Hills invited residents to bring as many mosquitoes and their larvae as possible — dead or alive — to its new barangay hall office starting February 19.
Residents will receive one peso in exchange for every five mosquitoes or larvae they bring.
However, critics say the alternative dengue solution could inadvertently result in the “cobra effect” – namely with residents breeding more mosquitoes to exchange for cash.
“That’s hilarious isn’t it!? It’s not the solution. Must undergo a clean-up operation like weekly or something each corner of the Eskinita. Kabuang (Crazy!),” one Facebook user said.
“You do know there’s a probably loophole for this, a person could breed them just for the sake of money. Making such policy is dangerous if not carefully analyzed for its potential drawbacks,” another added.
Yet another asked: “How to validate if the mosquito was actually caught in Mandaluyong?”
Brgy. Addition Hills chairperson Carlito Tolibas Cernal has since issued a statement clarifying that the initiative was only in addition to the barangay’s existing anti-dengue measures and not meant to replace these.
“Let me reiterate, this program has no bad intentions as it is an additional alternative to counter dengue,” Cernal said in Filipino on his Facebook page.
“And for those who fear that this may result in the breeding of mosquitoes, I can have this program halted once data from our city health shows dengue cases are on the decline. But if dengue cases go up again, we will implement this program again, so there is no reason to breed mosquitoes.”
“The entire community has a duty to be a partner of the government in our effort to arrest this dengue problem,” Cernal added.
Editor’s Note: This is an updated article. Originally posted with the headline “Mosquitoes for money? Mandaluyong anti-dengue alternative goes viral.”