EDITORIAL - Taking stock of our generosity

Filipinos are, by nature, generous people. However, it is about time that we take stock of our generosity so that certain government programs will succeed. One such program is a Cebu City ordinance that prohibits begging or the Anti-Mendicancy Ordinance.

The Anti-Mendicancy Ordinance was crafted basically to prevent begging in public places and to stop beggars from roaming around the city. However, this ordinance has not been successfully implemented because there are still people who give alms to beggars. And because there are still people who give to beggars, the number of beggars roaming around the city continues to grow every year despite a number of information campaigns launched by the city government.

It is not wrong to give. In fact, all religions in the world teach its followers to be generous, especially to those who are in need. But giving alms to mendicants is a different story. It is different because, among other reasons, mendicants do their begging in the streets, risking their lives and the lives of motorists. Begging in the streets has become even more dangerous because children are the ones doing the begging. Can you imagine a child braving the city thoroughfares just to beg?

Mendicants are not only road hazards, they also make city streets and sidewalks dirty. Take a look at city sidewalks early in the morning and you'll see them lying on cartons and plastics. There is even a sidewalk in the downtown area that has already been converted into something like a house for a family of beggars. They sleep, cook their food there, and even wash their clothes there!

The public must realize that giving to mendicants will just encourage them to continue to beg and continue to depend on other people to satisfy their needs. Giving to beggars teaches them to just wait for solutions to their problems and not look for the solutions.

Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal, who supports the city's anti-mendicancy drive, once said that charity should be coupled with responsibility. So next time you feel the urge to give a beggar a peso or two, think of your social responsibility of keeping that beggar off the streets for his own safety. Remember too, your moral responsibility of teaching that beggar that begging for money or for food is only a temporary solution to the hunger pangs that he is suffering from.