Public warned: Don’t give alms to beggars on Cebu City streets or you will be apprehended, fined

Anti-mendicancy ordinances will be strictly implemented starting today, Dec. 22 -- CCAMB

Raquel Arce, Cebu City Transportation Office head, says one should just give donations to legitimate organizations or institutions instead of giving money to beggars on the streets. | Wenilyn Sabalo

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Starting Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022, the Cebu City Anti-Mendicancy Board (CCAMB) will conduct rescue operations and issue citation tickets to mendicants and those who will be caught giving cash or any material goods to these mendicants.

This is because the city government aims to be more assertive in enforcing City Ordinance No. 1631, an ordinance that prohibits begging and giving alms on the streets and even conducting carolling inside vehicles such as public utility jeepneys.

The CCAMB, in a press conference on Thursday, Dec. 22, at the city hall, also warned that those groups that planned to give food or aid should coordinate with the city government to centralize the distribution to the right beneficiaries or institutions.

“Ang pagpanghatag ensakto apan sa kadalanan dili husto. I think it’s hightime nga magsugod na ta og citation. Pagpahibawo ni sa tanan nga we have to put ngipon sa atong city ordinance,” Dr. Ester Concha, Department of Social Welfare Services (DSWS)-Cebu City head said. 

(Giving is right but it is not right to give in the streets. I think it’s high time that we start giving out citations. We are reminding everyone that we have to put some teeth into our city ordinance.)

“Dili lang ni para sa mga nangatog sa sidewalks, apil na niini ang mga manghatag nga among nakita nga rampant karong panahona. I-course through ninyo og institutions, organizations, churches, (ug) ayaw sa kadalanan,” Cebu City Transportation Office (CCTO) head Raquel Arce added.

(This is not only for those who sleep on the sidewalks, but this also include those who give alms to beggars whom we see are many at these time. You course [your assistance instead] through institutions, organization, churches, and not on the streets.)

Personnel from the different departments such as DSWS, CCTO, Cebu City Health Department, Cebu Environmental Sanitation and Enforcement Team (CESET), and the city’s Prevention, Restoration, Order, Beautification and Enhancement (PROBE) team will act as apprehending personnel for those caught begging and giving on the streets.

Penalty will range from P1,000 or an equivalent of a four-hour community service. Habitual offenders also face the risk of being a filed a formal complaint by the city.

The city defines mendicancy as the “condition when any person who has no visible and legal means of support or lawful employment neglects to apply himself to some lawful calling and instead uses begging as a means of living.”

Several ordinances were passed in Cebu City to stop mendicancy, including City Ordinance No. 268 and City Ordinance No. 2304.

City Ordinance No.1631 prohibits and penalizes mendicancy in public places, buildings and offices, and in any business or commercial establishments.

Persons giving cash or any kind of goods to mendicants may also be held liable.

Moreover, City Ordinance No. 2304 also provides that an act of carolling is unlawful when made by a caroller anytime of the day along the streets and on board any public utility vehicle.

Its penalty ranges from P500 fine to five days of imprisonment, to eight hours of community service.

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