More street dwellers seen

TO keep the number of street dwellers from increasing, Acting Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella wants the executive department to reconvene the Anti-Mendicancy Board.

Labella told reporters yesterday that he has observed during his early morning jog that the number of illegal settlers has increased, particularly on Gen. Maxilom Ave., Fuente Osmeña area and Osmeña Blvd.

Some of them also reportedly become violent when pedestrians do not give them money.

“I will appeal (to Mayor Tomas Osmeña). The board has yet to convene. The streets are not sleeping quarters. If this continues, this can become a haven of illegal drugs,” he said.

The Anti-Mendicancy Board takes care of the welfare of street dwellers through operations that help them go back to their homes instead of taking shelter on the streets.

However, the board and 56 other special bodies were ordered abolished by Mayor Osmeña last July.

But even without the board, the administration of Osmeña, in coordination with the police and non-government organizations, has conducted several rescue operations since he assumed office last July.

The operations, however, only covered street children.

This is not the first time that Labella, as acting mayor, appealed to the executive department to reconvene the board.

Last September, he raised the same concern after seeing makeshift houses being built on sidewalks and skywalks.

Calling it a social problem, he said the situation must be addressed holistically and comprehensively, especially with the upcoming 2017 Sinulog celebration next month.

“We will solicit the help of the barangays concerned and the DSWS (Department of Social Welfare and Services) to look into the situation to clear them out of the streets and bring them back to their original homes. The barangays can help by strongly prohibiting sleeping on streets and taking them back to their provinces,” Labella said.

He suggested that the DSWS revive and enforce the “Balik Probinsya” program, which sent street dwellers back to their provinces after undergoing profiling.

The program was implemented during the administration of former mayor Michael Rama.

Labella also wants village officials to coordinate with the police to take action on the “worsening” mendicancy situation in the city.

This, after he received reports that some street dwellers, particularly on Gen. Maxilom Ave., became violent when pedestrians turned them down.

Some reportedly threw rocks at unknowing pedestrians who declined to give money.

“This is not just about squatting. This has metamorphosed into a social problem that is very hard to solve. That’s why we need the right body to work on the matter and that is the Anti-Mendicancy Board,” Labella said.