Labella: More beggars seen during holidays

WITH the onset of the “Ber” months leading to the Christmas season, Acting Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella said this may lead to an increase in the number of mendicants living in the streets and the city’s skywalks.

“It seems that there is a proliferation of street people and mendicants in our streets particularly in the areas in Fuente Osmeña, Mango Avenue, Osmeña Boulevard, and even in our skywalks,” he said in his press conference yesterday.

Labella said he sees these mendicants in the streets before he does his early morning jogging. In previous years, he said the city had been trying to address this problem already.

But Labella said he’s worried that the city may not have any programs and no dedicated office to solve this problem this time.

Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña ordered a review of several special bodies and committees including the Cebu City Anti-Mendicancy Board (CCAMB) which used to conduct operations to remove street dwellers and vagrants all over the city.

“I urge the executive, through the anti-mendicancy board, to look into this. It has an ugly side. (The reason behind the proliferation) I think it’s because there are no more operations being conducted. There is a need to reactivate this office,” he said.

“It looks very bad and unhealthy for the city. It’s a breeding ground for young people to do illegal acts, begging and making our city dirty. They urinate everywhere,” he said.