Cebu dads pass law banning caroling in streets

CEBU CITY—Eleven-year-old Jeffrey Purisima would start his performance with a disclaimer: “Ate, kuya, don’t be scared. We are not thieves. We are just going to sing Christmas carols.”

Purisima and his companion,

9-year-old Guam Heyrosa, would then belt off-key Christmas songs while shaking their flattened soft drink caps nailed on a piece of wood.

They squeezed themselves inside a crammed jeepney and then asked the passengers for a few pesos.

But they may have to shelve their act soon.

The Cebu City Council on Wednesday passed on final reading an amendment to the existing Anti-Mendicancy ordinance that does not only prohibit street children from begging for alms but also bars them from caroling on the streets and onboard public utility vehicles (PUVs).

Based on the amended ordinance, those caught caroling in the city streets and jeepneys will pay a fine of P500 or be imprisoned for not more than five days.

The violator may also render at least eight hours of community service depending on the discretion of the court.

City Councilor Augustus Pe Jr. said he decided to push for the amendment of the ordinance after he noticed a number of young boys would carol on the streets or inside  PUVs.

He said that the children might get hurt, especially those who just hang on jeepneys, if the practice was not stopped.

“In order to avoid future accidents and prevent the immense pain (sic) it will bring to the children and their families. There is a need to regulate caroling per se,” said Pe’s ordinance.

Pe’s ordinance amends City Ordinance No. 1931 that was passed in March 2002, which declares caroling  as unlawful if it is done between 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. without a mayor’s permit.

The original draft of Pe’s amendment sought to prohibit caroling on the streets and PUVs from September to December, considered the country’s holiday season.

But Cebu City Vice Mayor Joy Augustus Young told the council during a session last Dec. 14 that PUV carolers proliferate on Cebu City streets the entire year and not just during the holidays.

“Caroling in homes is part of tradition. What we should prohibit is caroling in the streets and in PUVs made the whole year round,” said Councilor Jose Daluz III.

They asked Pe to delete the portion of his ordinance that specified the Christmas season so that implementation of the ordinance would not be limited during the “ber” months.

Also, they asked Pe to erase the requirement for mayor’s permit. Since the ordinance prohibits caroling on the streets, such should not be issued a mayor’s permit.

With the passage of the amended ordinance, Purisima and his friends are worried.

He said they stand to lose P150 to P200 in daily earnings, which they get from caroling.

They  divide their earnings and use it to buy food, said Purisima.

The boys said that if they earn more, they even bring food home to their families in Barangay Mambaling in Cebu City.

“I hope they will not arrest us so we can continue earning money,” Purisima said.