PRESIDENTIAL Decree No. 1563 or the Anti-Mendicancy law establishes a system for the control and eradication of mendicancy in the country. It aims to promote social justice and to protect life, property and dignity of people who are prone to rampant mendicancy in streets and other places.
Mendicancy, as defined by dictionaries, is the practice of begging for alms, food or anything for support. While it may mean mercy and compassion for others, it may also be a means to commit crime, traffic hazards and exposes mendicants to indignities and degradation and add to that is the fact that it also endangers the life and the health of anyone into it.
As the holiday season sets in, the City Social Welfare and Development Office of the City of San Fernando has reiterated the law that prohibits the public from extending assistance, particularly monetary to mendicants roaming around the city streets and alleys.
The said office is true to the aim of the law in preventing the exploitation o0f infants and children through mendicancy and to promote the rehabilitation of minors found begging.
It can be observed that there are a great number of indigenous peoples like the Badjaos and the Aetas who troop to the city streets to beg alms from motorists, commuters and passersby. They beg for loose coins or food in their bid to sustain their living through mendicancy.
Many may not be aware of the said law or some are carried away by their compassion and willingness to help others. However, the giving of alms might be teaching mendicants to be solely relying on begging for their daily sustenance. In the first place, there is this law that makes it illegal to extend alms.
The said office likewise suggested to the public that instead of giving alms to mendicants, they can always donate to charitable institutions and activities that takes care of people who are into mendicancy and in such manner, helping others is made more organized, legal and proper.
The government, in fact, has this “Balik Probinsiya” program that sends mendicants to their hometowns and discourages them from going to places and from resorting into mendicancy. The government's effort for such is continuing since the temporary “exodus” of some indigenous people remains especially in this time of the year.
In addition to the said program, the government must have other additional alternatives to address the problem on mendicancy. It may provide more livelihood programs in hometowns of mendicants and on the spot, give the said indigenous people some things that they can be busy with while earning.
One reason aside from the lack of basic needs of mendicants going astray is the lack of activities in their places. They are doing nothing that they resort to being nomads and be mendicants to live their lives. Instead of giving them alms, why not give them something they can do.
Giving them fish is not enough, we should instead be teaching them how to fish for them to sustain their lives.
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