A COUPLE of days from now will be Christmas. It is said, it’s the time for giving, sharing and begging alms on the streets. The latter is the usual sight when the Yuletide is nearing and a few days after.
Before there were only the usual kids who beg for loose coins or food, then came the Aetas and now the Badjaos. These people knock on car windows usually at stop lights, hang on or ride in jeepneys, or wait for people coming out of churches, malls and other establishments to beg for money or anything such as food.
The Aetas and the Badjaos are even competing now for alms in busy intersections. Some of the natives are nursing mothers who even carry with them their babies while begging. It’s not like prejudging these mothers, but we may think that the babies they carry while begging are good reasons for the public to be merciful for them.
It’s not bad to be compassionate to these mothers, however, these mothers court disaster for their children as their young is exposed to pollution, to the danger of being hit by vehicles and to other elements that are not good for children. After all, these babies have no reason to be on streets at their age. They should be playing and enjoying their youth in their homes instead.
There are also mendicants who, at their old age, should be staying in their homes and not in streets. As senior citizens, they should be staying with their families in their villages. They should be enjoying the remaining years of their lives in their communities.
Mendicancy is a problem. Even the government particularly local government units are given headaches from these mendicants especially when Christmas nears and they are aplenty on streets and alleys. Though mendicants deserve mercy, its not good to give them alms on streets.
Mendicancy in fact, is supposedly prohibited, as we have the Anti-Mendicancy law and other ordinances which treat the activity. As in other laws of the land, strict implementation of such is missing.
One time while I am on a stop, my compassion flowed for a little Aeta boy. I handed him over a fee one-peso coins and soon, all the other Aetas went to the side of my car while on a stoplight. All of those who saw me giving alms are now begging too until immediately after, a green light lighted.
It’s good to give but it’s much better to give in proper places and proper time. The government should mend mendicancy not only through apprehension of mendicants but through the proper handling of mendicants such as the provision of livelihood programs and other income generating activities that would discourage them from begging.
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