The Cost of Clean Streets: Welfare or Image Management?

There is a peculiar kind of governance that mistakes visibility for the problem. In Cebu City, that governance has a name: City Ordinance No. 1631, the Anti-Mendicancy Ordinance. This is a law that has existed since the year 1996, but has found renewed and aggressive life in recent years. In a shallow viewpoint, it looks like a matter of urban management. However, if we look at it in a deeper and political sense, it's something that's far more concerning.

The rationale behind this ordinance is that it prohibits begging and giving alms in the streets of Cebu City, with offenders (both the beggar and the giver), paying a ?1,000?peso fine or rendering four hours of community sentence. The city has gone further, identifying 31 so-called mendicancy "hotspots" where the ordinance will be strictly enforced, covering areas near Cebu City Hall, the Basilica Minore del Sto. Niño, and barangays such as Mambaling, Kamagayan, Kamputhaw, Pahina Central, and Duljo-Fatima. The law does not only go after those who beg. Street carolers are also prohibited from roaming the city or singing in front of private vehicles and public transport.

What makes this matter striking is not the existence of the law itself, as public welfare is a state priority, but the distorted mismatch between the problem being addressed and the solution being offered. While the city government presents the ordinance as a welfare-oriented initiative that encourages organized assistance through agencies and accredited groups, many people remain concerned about whether these measures truly address the everyday realities faced by those living in poverty.

The issue is not simply the initiative for regulation, but whether the solutions being implemented are enough to respond to deeper social and economic problems. The ordinance has also sparked conversations about how poverty is perceived and managed in urban spaces. Reports highlighting fewer mendicants on the streets may suggest improved public order, but they also raise questions about what happens to the individuals and families who continue to struggle behind the scenes.

Cleaner streets and a more orderly city are important goals, yet lasting progress should also be measured by how effectively people are helped out of hardship through accessible support systems and opportunities.

Ultimately, the conversation surrounding the ordinance is a reminder that poverty cannot be solved through enforcement alone. Real and lasting solutions require stronger social services, sustainable livelihood opportunities, accessible public assistance, and policies grounded in dignity and inclusion. As citizens and students of society and governance, it is important to continue advocating for approaches that protect public welfare while also ensuring that the most vulnerable are not left unheard or unseen.

After all, a city that fines people for giving and punishes people for asking has not solved poverty. It has simply decided that poverty is most tolerable when it cannot be seen. That is not governance. That is abandonment with a press release. — Keecia Marie P. Laguna AB Political Science University of Cebu