ILOILO CITY – It seems City Mayor Jerry Treñas and the Department of Health are in virtual disagreement on whether there is a monkeypox case here or none.
Mayor Treñas claimed there’s already a case of monkeypox in the city.
Treñas himself disclosed the information during an interview with Iloilo-based radio stations on Tuesday, Aug. 23.
According to the mayor, a 25-year-old man has been infected with monkeypox.
He even detailed that the man is from a town in Iloilo province and is working in a fast food chain in Iloilo City.
The mayor said the person has no travel history, but had a relative who came from abroad.
On the other hand, the DOH has been mum on the matter.
Even DOH officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire could not categorically confirm that the country’s fourth monkeypox case was indeed in Iloilo.
In a virtual press conference on Tuesday afternoon, Vergeire did not directly answer a question sent by an Iloilo-based reporter.
But Vergeire did offer other information such as the infected person has 14 close contacts and they all do not have symptoms.
Vergeire also indirectly criticized the Iloilo media, particularly radio stations that reported the alleged monkeypox case as early as Monday, Aug. 22.
During the press conference, Vergeire disclosed that the DOH is ‘investigating’ the news items.