PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Palawan — Over 470 malaria service providers and health officials representing Puerto Princesa City and various towns in Palawan convened to receive important updates on the ongoing battle against the mosquito-borne infectious disease with a collective aspiration to bring it to an end.

They were joined by municipal health officers and their respective delegates from 17 towns in attending the 14th Provincial Malaria Congress last 28 November in Puerto Princesa City.

Provincial information officer Atty. Christian Jay Cojamco said Wednesday that the congress is a component of the provincial government's initiatives to eliminate malaria, which, in turn, could contribute to the Philippines being officially declared entirely free from the infectious disease.

"The objective of the event is to gather all malaria warriors from the city and the province to provide them with additional knowledge and updates, especially regarding the current status of malaria in the region. It also aims to highlight the ongoing interventions necessary to achieve the ultimate goal of making Palawan completely malaria-free," Cojamco said.

The event — themed "Time to Deliver Zero Malaria: Invest, Innovate, Implement Formula "M" para sa Malaria: Makiisa, Makialam, Makipagtulungan, Makibahagi" — was organized by the Provincial Health Office's Kilusan Ligtas Malaria program under the leadership of Governor Dennis Socrates in collaboration with the Pilipinas Shell Foundation Inc. and the Department of Health.

Provincial health officer Dr. Faye Erika Labrador stressed that their office is committed to ongoing activities and measures aimed at ultimately eliminating the disease and attaining zero malaria cases in Palawan.

She added that despite the province still recording malaria cases, it is in the final stage of its battle against the mosquito-borne infectious disease caused by parasites of the Plasmodium genus.

"We may still be having cases, and for this year, we have observed an increase in our cases, but we will not stop until malaria is eradicated in our province. By recognizing the existence of malaria and believing that we will illuminate our steps towards zero malaria in Palawan. We will not stop until we have eliminated malaria in the province," Labrador said.

In July, the DoH said that the Philippines is on track to achieve a malaria-free status within the next two to three years.

DoH Secretary Teodoro Herbosa claimed that the declaration is imminent since malaria cases have been effectively eradicated in all regions except for Palawan.

Herbosa explained that the majority of reported malaria cases are concentrated in the "high mountainous areas" of Palawan province. In 2022, Palawan officially recorded 3,157 cases of indigenous malaria.