ILOILO City – The Public Safety and Transportation Management Office (PSTMO) is urging the public to course through their help for mendicant Badjaos to social welfare and development offices (SWDO) instead of giving them alms.
Giving of alms on the streets could endanger the lives of motorists, commuters and the Badjao themselves, said PSTMO head Jeck Conlu.
“Mas nami gid man maghatag kon may sobra ka, makabulig kita sa tawo. Pero gapa-encourage ni nga magdamo pa gid sila diri kung masobrahan kita ka buot. Kon aton kabuot maka-pose danger sa aton kaugalingon, kinanglan i-rescue naton sila. Ang kaluoy ibutang naton sa proper nga mga agency para ma-address ang ini nga sitwasyon,” Conlu added.
The Badjaos, widely known as “sea gypsies”, are an ethnic group scattered along the coastal areas of Tawi-Tawi, Sulu, Basilan, and some coastal municipalities of Zamboanga del Sur in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
Because of the conflict between Muslim separatists and government troops and the lack of livelihood opportunities, many Badjaos left Mindanao.
They have been frequenting Western Visayas, particularly the cities of Bacolod and Iloilo, for years and they have been routinely rounded up and sent back to their home provinces.
Giving and begging alms are punishable under City Regulation Ordinance 2002-400.
The ordinance provides that mendicants “caught begging are liable to fines of P500, imprisonment of not more than a year or both fine and imprisonment.”
Meanwhile, giving alms to beggars is punishable by a fine of P500 or community service.
Any person, syndicate, or group who uses and exploits minors, disabled and infirm people in the mendicancy trade faces a P2,000 fine and up to two months in prison.
Conlu said they are reviewing the city’s Anti-Mendicancy Ordinance to give it more teeth.
“Gina-review naton kung paano ang IRR (implementing rules and regulations) sini. Lantawon namon kung paano ma-implement upod ang PNP (Philippine National Police),” said Conlu.
Earlier, Atty. Carmelo Nochete, director of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Region 6, said they are reconvening soon the Task Force Reach Out, an inter-agency body created purposely to respond to the needs of the Badjaos periodically coming to the region.
“Considering their nature as nomads, we want to have a holistic approach to rescuing and responding to them,” said Nochete./PN
