‘Rescue’ of street carolers begins

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

WORRIED over the children’s safety, the Cebu City Commission for the Welfare and Protection of Children (CCWPC) and the barangays have started “rescuing” carolers, especially those who live in the streets.

The Barangay Council for the Protection of Children (BCPC) and the Department of Social Welfare Services in the barangays were tapped to keep carolers off the streets and to return them to their parents.

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Children abandoned by their parents and who continue to put their lives in danger despite the warning from the BCPC they will be brought to the Parian Drop-in Center in Barangay Parian, the City’s facility for children in need of protection.

CCWPC executive director Annabeth Cuizon said they are particularly concerned about carolers in intersections and those who board jeepneys.

The City Council has also expressed concern on the issue.

Last week, the council approved a resolution enjoining the DSWS and the BCPC to monitor the presence of carolers in the streets and discourage the practice of caroling, which they said puts the lives of the children in danger.

“There are reports of increased incidence of children and teenagers prowling the city streets, criss-crossing the streets and intersections and running after jeepneys to sing Christmas carols and beg from commuters.

This puts the children’s lives at risk and calls for the enforcement of appropriate measures to prevent injuries or loss of lives,” the council said in a resolution.

The CCWPC will intensify the campaign to keep carolers safe in the weeks leading to Christmas, as it noted an increase in the number of beggars in the city, which multiplies during the holidays.

Cuizon urged the public to report to the barangays, to the DSWS, the commission, or the Cebu City Task Force on Street Children.

“If they see children running after jeepneys or singing carols during a stop light and they are there every day and it appears they have no parents looking after them, any concerned citizen can bring the child to the barangay hall or to Parian anytime. Our social workers will do the rest,” Cuizon told Sun.Star Cebu.

“The campaign to keep these carolers out of the streets starts in the barangays because the barangay officials are on the field, they can reach the children faster. They just have to rescue these carolers so they won’t get involved in accidents,” Cuizon said.

City Traffic Operations Management personnel have also been tapped to help apprehend carolers, and help enforce the Anti-Mendicancy Ordinance of the City.

The ordinance prohibits the giving of alms to beggars and carolers in the city. Anyone caught giving alms would be fined P1,000 or would be required to render community service, while beggars would be rehabilitated.