Response to the commentary on “Pre- and post-COVID-19 pandemic identification of dengue hotspots and exploration of determinants in Quezon City, Philippines”

We appreciate the authors of the recent commentary [1] for their thoughtful engagement with our study [2], which we believe has contributed to advancing understanding of dengue dynamics in urban settings through collegial discussions.Their reflections emphasize the importance of continued dialogue in epidemiologic research, and we welcome this opportunity to clarify our study's aims and methodological context. On theoretical frameworks and ecological designTheoretical framework is vital for it informs the conceptual framework, which is the operational blueprint of an epidemiologic study.Our study was explicitly framed as exploratory and data-driven, designed to identify spatial patterns and determine ecological associations.While we did not explicitly state that the analysis is following a singular theoretical model, it is apparent that the conceptual model is influenced by the ecologic model aiming to show how urbanization, transportation, and greenness may relate to the occurrence of dengue in the city.The