Labella helps family to go back to Bohol
Only a person with a heart of stone won't be touched seeing these small kids and an infant sleeping on the sidewalk. To say that it is inhuman is an understatement. EDGARDO C. LABELLA Cebu City Vice Mayor
With nothing but hopes of landing a job in Cebu City, a family of eight, who has been sleeping on the streets, was sent back to their hometown in the Province of Bohol by Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella yesterday morning.
Labella happened upon the family who was sleeping on the sidewalk along the Ayala Access Road during his morning jog.
“They just woke up when I passed by. I interviewed the father and came to learn that they just came from Dagohoy, Bohol to seek job opportunities in Cebu City. In the meantime, they sleep in every nook and cranny in the city,” Labella said in a Facebook post.
It was learned that the six children, the eldest about seven years old, had to stop schooling and join their farmer parents in their search for greener pastures in Cebu.
Labella advised the family to go back to Bohol and work on their small farm. He also gave them cash for boat and bus fares, food and farming tools.
“What a potential addition to the social problem in our midst. Being penniless, I was so con- cerned with the children not being in school. Parents must be taught responsible parenthood,” he said.
Labella's driver has since taken the family to the pier and made sure they took the first trip to Bohol yesterday morning.
Since uploading the photos of the family, Labella's Facebook post has been the subject of discussion among many social media users.
Ann, who requested anonymity, suggested that a border patrol be deployed in the port areas in Cebu City to keep track of arriving passengers who may eventually end up sleeping on city streets due to poverty.
Other netizens were also quick to point that concerned agencies and local government units should be more vigilant in looking out for street dwellers who might be in need of help.
Labella, for his part, asked the public to refrain from commenting about politics, as he was just acting as a “person, not as a public figure.”
“Only a person with a heart of stone won't be touched seeing these small kids and an infant sleeping on the sidewalk. To say that it is inhuman is an understatement,” he said.
In 2014, the Cebu City Government declared August as the Anti-Mendicancy Month in the city.
The anti-mendicancy campaign aims to help beggars stand on their own and not depend on begging as their source of living.
Labella had said druing the launching of the Anti-Mendicancy Month that it was an opportunity to re-asses the legislative interventions against begging.
Under the City Ordinance, a minimum penalty of P500 will be imposed on those who violate the measure.
Those who cannot pay will have to do community service.