Board to turn Badjaos from beggars into tourist attractions

CEBU, Philippines - From being eye sores, a member of Cebu City’s Anti-Mendicancy Board wants to make the Badjao beggars a tourist attraction.

Dr. Renato Obra of the AMB said he already raised it in one of their meetings being one of the long-term solutions he believes that will address the city’s problem on street beggars.

Obra explained that the idea is to provide costumes to these children, and place them in strategic areas to perform their traditional ethnic dance, which they are known to do on the streets while they beg from jeepney passengers.

He said they already gathered some of these Badjaos and dressed them up for a performance before Governor Gwen Garcia. Obra said the Badjaos’ ethnic dance, while it attracts even the local passersby, can also be a hit to tourists.

Obra, during a press briefing at the city hall recently, explained that once these Badjaos who come all the way from Mindanao just to beg, will be occupied with their regular performances which includes singing, dancing and playing the instruments, that they will surely be kept off the streets.

The money from their performances will then be divided among themselves, Obra said.

Obra, however, admitted that the Badjaos’ culture may not be related to Cebu but the purpose of his idea is to keep them off the streets and lessen the number of begging children there.

This August, the city celebrates the Anti-Mendicancy Month, and despite the existence of the Anti-Mendicancy Law which punishes the beggars and the givers, Betty Ganub, of the Cebu City Anti-Mendicancy Task Force, admitted that they still have problems implementing the said law.

Under this law, a person caught giving something to a mendicant will be slapped with a P1,000 fine or a community service of at least four hours but Ganub said since it was passed, no one was convicted yet, and she partly blamed it to the lack of manpower.

The task force presently has two drivers and three members which Ganub said is not enough to scour the streets of Cebu City to apprehend individuals caught violating the law. Proof of this law’s lax implementation is the presence of beggars from practically everywhere in the city. Ganub said they have already mobilized the tanods but not all barangays are actively participating.

Meanwhile, the Anti-Mendicancy Office is expected to put up a new processing center where they could drop off all apprehended mendicant children who are currently turned over to the Pari-an drop in center.   - THE FREEMAN