Sunday, December 18, 2005 (Philippines)

MASS ILLUMINATION. In Las Piñas, as in thousands of other Philippine churches at this time of year, Christmas lights greet churchgoers as they attend a nine-day series of dawn masses.(Ap photo) Beggars and street-children who will be rounded up by Cebu City Hall’s special task force will be fed. But there’s a catch: they will also be charged with violating the City’s anti-mendicancy ordinance. The City Council allocated at least P45,000 to pay for their food until they are sent to jail or released on probation. City Hall wants to make sure they don’t go back to the streets, especially during the holidays. Changing tactics, the City Anti-Mendicancy Board has decided that instead of just gathering and sending home the beggars with canned goods, it will now file criminal complaints. [full story]