Cebu City police to round up child beggars anew
THE police have noticed that streetchildren are starting to go back to the streets to ask for alms from passengers and passersby after major restrictions against the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) have been removed.
Lieutenant Colonel Wilbert Parilla, deputy city director for administration of the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO), said they will again be rounding up the minors, in coordination with the City Social Welfare Services (CSWS) and the Department of Social Welfare and Development in Central Visayas (DSWD).
Parilla said the rescued children will be turned over to the CSWS or DSWD-Central Visayas as they have no shelter facility for them.
The CCPO had already advised the street dwellers, including those living underneath the bridge, to go back to their respective hometowns, but when the Covid-19 restriction eased, they started returning to the city, where they prefer to stay to earn a living.
Parilla said allowing child beggars in the streets exposes them to risks of getting hit by cars or contracting the Covid-19 virus. (AYB)