Who’s afraid of street carolers in jeepneys?

It’s past 10 p.m. but James, a fifth grade pupil, is still wandering the streets of Cebu City.

Grasping a bottle filled with pebbles, James jumps into a jeepney that stops at the corner of Gorordo and Gen. Maxilom Avenues and starts his introduction.

“Ate, kuya ayaw lang mo kahadlok. Di ko kawatan. Mamasko lang ko. (Sister, brother, don’t be afraid. I’m not a thief. I will just sing you Christmas carols).”

James then starts singing while rattling his bottle as a crude musical accompaniment.

Passengers turn a deaf ear. Some clutch their bags tighter.

Out of luck, James gets down and waits for another jeepney.

Together with other neighborhood kids, the 12-year-old boy from barangay Lorega-San Miguel, heads to the busier streets of the city.

The jeepney-hopping carolers are more visible now in Cebu City as the Christmas season begins.

Their presence has set off complaints from commuters, who are either annoyed by the begging or anxious that the youngsters, some of whom turn aggressive, are actually street punks threatening them: give me money or else.

The carolers can’t be arrested because of their minor age, leaving enforcement of an anti-mendicancy city ordinance in limbo.

“They [carolers] usually come out in droves during the Christmas season until Sinulog in January,” said Isabelita Ganub, head of the Cebu City anti-Mendicancy Task Force.

“We usually catch minors and those begging in the streets. Some immediately run away after seeing us. We are afraid they might get into accidents on the roads,” she said.

Youngsters like James earn about P50 a night. If they’re lucky, a gracious foreigner gives them more, and they can collect up to P1,000.

“Tigomon nako akong kita para naa ko’y baon ug para makapalit kog bag ong mga sinina, (I save my earnings for school allowance and to buy new clothes),” said James.

It may seem like easy money, but James has had brushes with the law and suffered physical injury.

He was caught several times before by the anti-mendicancy task force, the Department of Social Welfare and Services and tanods of barangay Lorega-San Miguel.

“Ila ming hadlukon. Ipakaon kuno mi sa buwaya. Pero di man ko mahadlok kay di man tinuod, (They try to scare us. They say they will feed us to the crocodiles but I’m not scared because I know it’s not true)” said James, recalling how barangay tanods hit his hands with their  batuta or night stick.

Aside from being rounded up and scolded, the risks of street caroling include getting hit by speeding vehicles or falling off a jeepney.

Last July, when James was running away to elude roving task force members, he got hit by a motorcycle.

He injured his leg. A neighbor massaged the limb and he felt better.

With Christmas holidays approaching,  authorities have become more active in enforcing City Ordinance 1931 or the Anti-Street Caroling Ordinance.

For the month of November alone, the task force has “ rescued” 111 street mendicants. Over half or 57 had been caught more than once.

Out of the total, 74 are minors.

These rescued children are interviewed and either referred to the Parian Drop-in Center if they have no families or are returned to their homes.

“Even if we send them home and reprimand their parents, they still go back to caroling on the street. I pity some kids I who said that they carol so that they can have money for school and to help their parents,” Ganub said.

The city ordinance carries a penalty of a P500 fine and imprisonment of not more than five days.

But with Republic Act (RA) 9344 or the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act, the penalty can’t be imposed on offenders below 18 years old.

This makes children vulnerable as pawns of professional syndicates that use beggars as fronts to collect money.

“This is why adults use children to carol on the streets because they can’t be imprisoned” said Ganub.

She said people should not give alms to street carolers or beggars no matter how pitiful they look.

“Giving is good, but it’s not proper to do it in the streets,” Ganub said.

Giving money to street carolers is also prohibited by the anti-caroling ordinance.

Violators face a P1,000 fine or have to render at least four hours of community service.

Even with these restrictions, Jame and his friends continue to leap into jeepneys and shake their noisemakers, hoping to find commuters ready to give up a few coins.

As long as there are people who give them money, they will continue to sing and stretch out their palms.