EDITORIAL - Let those mendicants and carolers be

The city government has been reported to be creating at least five teams to go after beggars and street carolers. Susmaryosep. Sa kadaghan nga atimanonon ning dakbayan, kana pa gyud maoy daginoton.

Cebu City is supposed to be the second most important city in the entire country. As such it follows that the conduct of its officials and agencies needs to conform to an inordinately high degree of public expectation.

Sure, there are city ordinances against mendicancy and street caroling, but for God's sake, the second most important city in the entire country will not rise and fall on whether mendicants and carolers descend on the streets this Christmas.

If the city itself cannot bring a little cheer to the hearts of these underprivileged members of society, then at least it should let them be to fend for themselves for a few days in the uncertain hope of courting a little charity from the rest of the citizenry.

After Christmas, then maybe the city can go after them in pursuit of those ordinances. And while it is at it, maybe it can even pursue all those other ordinances whose main distinction is their inanity or unimplementability.

We have been saying this and we say this yet again. That anti-jaywalking ordinance is a sham. It is implemented only at certain places and at the sole discretion of those arrogant and uncouth anti-jaywalking ordinance enforcers in orange.

If our honorable councilors do not know what we are talking about, we challenge them to snoop in on these enforcers mornings near the Cebu City Central School. There they will see these enforcers apprehending everyone else but the ambulant vendors who criss-cross the street.

The common excuse for the failure of the city to implement many of its ordinances is the lack of personnel to enforce them. Of course we know it is more of a lack of political will or wrong priorities than anything. But we are willing to give it the privilege of the doubt.

On the other hand, such an excuse only serves to expose the stupidity of the whole thing. For instance, why would the second most important city council in the country continue making ordinances it knows it cannot fully implement, or implement only in starts and jerks?