Labella to DMDP: Provide trainings to mendicants

CEBU, Philippines —Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella has instructed the Department of Manpower Development and Placement (DMDP) to provide livelihood training to those rescued street dwellers who are "trainable."

"They are being assessed karon. Kahibawo ko nga naay daghan nga na-rescue, after a while, mamalik lang gihapon. But we will not stop. We will be relentless, especially sa assessment that most, if not all, of them are Cebu City residents," he said.

It was earlier reported that 149 of the 154 rescued street dwellers and mendicants during the simultaneous operations around the city turned out to have homes.

These individuals were already told to go home.

"They have homes and they just like to go around, beg... This has been a many-decades problem of the city government and I think during our watch, we'll see to it that if we cannot totally eradicate, but hopefully, we can reduce it to the optimum because these people, they are human beings," said Labella.

Labella said, as human beings, they should be given the opportunity for proper livelihood and should be made to understand that living on the streets is not suitable for them.

"Mao na nga we will never stop and we will be relentless with the help of the police and employees-- PROBE team, anti-mendicancy, and the rest that we will be able to rescue all these mendicants... I could not say anymore homeless because they have homes but they just prefer to go out and beg and go around the city," said the mayor.

To recall, Wilbert Parilla, deputy city director for operations of the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO), said only five of the rescued street dwellers are staying at the city-owned halfway house.

The five homeless individuals are set to be sent home to their respective provinces. Some of them are from Mindanao.

Last Friday, the city government together with the CCPO launched the rescue operations on street dwellers and mendicants. — GAN (FREEMAN)