Editorial | June 6, 2022
It’s the month of June already and the City of Ormoc, in preparation for the celebration of its fiesta in honor of Sts. Peter and Paul, will host a plethora of activities.
The traditional month-long sporting extravaganza coupled will banner this month coupled with spectacular social activities, gatherings and guests that will surely make this year’s celebration special.
Ormocanons, near and far, will flock to the city to enjoy the festive ambiance, reunite with old friends and savor the opportunity of breathing the June Ormocanon air. The Local Government Unit will be out to create the best version of the fiesta this year. Lights, decorations and spectacles are a must see in this City of Beautiful People.
However, together with the convergence of locals and guests during this festive season, the city also expect the influx of people who will ask for alms on the streets. No, not expect. In fact, they have been flocking for months now. Beggars, young and old, have been a fixture especially at the areas of convergence like parks, plaza, public market, terminals and the food park.
While we have no intention of discriminating these people, one cannot deny that they are becoming annoying over the course of time. When beggars used to be the old and the elderly, today children are frequently seen asking for alms. Children that should be inside their respective homes are creating a living asking from other people.
This isn’t the scenery we want to showcase to our balikbayans and guests. The City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO) and the local Philippine National Police (PNP) should and must control the movement of these children especially at the plaza and food parks. Their respective families’ attention should be called upon and the government must impose the law on mendicancy on them.
Surely it isn’t wrong to give help. But these children are neither the right people to ask for help nor their ways of asking for help.
The concerned authorities must locate the families of these children, assess and evaluate the root causes why these children are out there begging, and carve out measures to address this. Surely, this prolonged coronavirus pandemic has took its toll on the economic capacities of Filipino families while probably forced these children to ask for alms on the streets. The authorities must be able to return these young souls back on track and focus on the things they’re supposed to do.
Just so, we want to celebrate this festive season jovially and memorably. And what better way to create a memorable fiesta celebration than to have these children back at their houses together with their respective families. On their home studying and chasing their dreams instead on the streets chasing for coins.
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