HABITUAL mendicants will be apprehended and prosecuted as the Davao City Police Office (DCPO) expressed support for the local government’s campaign to intensify the enforcement of Presidential Decree 1563 or the Anti-Mendicancy Law.
DCPO spokesperson Capt. Hazel Tuazon said the office will file cases against street beggars who repeatedly violate the law. She also said those abetting and giving alms to beggars will not be spared as they will be invited to the police station to pay the corresponding fine.
The law imposes a P20 fine for people who give alms to mendicants.
“Naa na ta ana nga malouy ta sa manglimos pero mas louy sila kung naay mahitabo sa ila sa kalsada, dili lang sila pati motorista, [and] drivers (Although we pity the beggars, it would be more tragic if something happens to them. Not only them but also the motorists and drivers),” Tuazon said during the AFP-PNP Press Conference on Oct. 11.
Section 4 of the Presidential Decree No. 1563 of the Anti-Mendicancy Law of 1978 states that any infant or child 8 years old and below found begging or exploited by a mendicant for the purpose of begging shall be seized and considered as a neglected child. They will be rescued and placed in the custody of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
The law also penalizes mendicants with a fine not exceeding P500 or imprisonment not exceeding two years. A habitual mendicant shall pay a fine not exceeding P1,000 and imprisonment not exceeding four years.
“The more nga maghatag og limos sa nagapangayo, magtou na sila nga kada adlaw nga pang-limos is panginabuhi na nila so dili ta manghatag og limos, kay kung wala na silay makuha sa kadalanan, dili na sila magbalik balik sa kalsada (Begging is already a livelihood for them, so stop giving them alms. If they can’t earn anything from begging, they would stop going back to the streets),” she added.
DCPO director Colonel Alberto Lupaz instructed the city police to closely work with the City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO) to carry out rescue operations on the mendicants.
The advisory was issued in the light of the Facebook post of “Ate Chai” citing a group of minors repeatedly begging in Toril and would get hostile when they are not given money.
Tuazon urged Davaoeños to instead visit the nearest police station to rescue the minors or other mendicants rather than post their grievances on social media.
