Marikina City Mayor Marjorie “Maan” Teodoro emphasized the importance of proper handwashing and self-care to prevent the spread of diseases amid rising cases of influenza-like illness in the country.

“We know that part of our discipline is self-care. Do you know what self-care means? So part of self-care is physical, our well-being. And under physical well-being is good hygiene, eating right, sleeping regular eight hours, and engaging in physical activities. So this is really good for our children,” Teodoro said during a handwashing activity at Marikina Elementary School in celebration of this year’s Global Handwashing Day.

“To take care of ourselves, we need to be clean in our bodies so that we can avoid diseases, especially now, you know, this is the season for different illnesses and diseases,” she added.

The mayor noted that while Marikina has not experienced any outbreak, preventive measures remain a top priority. “Although here in Marikina, we don't experience any outbreak, we want to prevent the spread of common diseases during the Ber months. That is why in the past two days of our health break, the city and the schools really disinfected all the schools here in Marikina,” Teodoro said.

She also thanked Safeguard, Manila Water, and the Philippine Red Cross for their support in promoting hygiene awareness and teaching students the importance of proper handwashing.

“We always remember that when washing our hands, every meal or before eating, whenever we do an activity, it is very important and we can avoid diseases,” she added.

For her part, Philippine Association of Medical Technologists (PAMET) President Luella Vertucio reminded children to practice good hygiene daily to protect themselves and their communities.

“You know that germs are always around us. They are everywhere — in the hallways, in the corridors, in the classrooms, in the houses, in the cell phones, in the toys, and everything else, even in our hands, in our surroundings. We can't see them with our own eyes, pero nandiyan ang germs at puwedeng lumipat at dumami kapag hindi natin nalilinis,” Vertucio told students.

“Kaya gusto namin ipaalala sa inyo na ang kalinisan ay napakahalaga. Ito ay proteksyon natin laban sa mga germs at bacteria. Para sa amin mga medical technologists, Safeguard lang ang kayang pumatay ng 99.9 percent of germs at magbigay ng up to 21-hour germ protection,” she added.

A newly constructed 10-faucet handwashing facility was also inaugurated during the event.