The fine for persons giving alms to mendicants in Bacolod City has increased from ₱50 to ₱500, Councilor Israel Salanga reminded the public on Tuesday, Jan. 27.
The increase is contained in City Ordinance No. 1112, which establishes an Integrated Program for Regulating Mendicancy. Authored by councilors Salanga and Celia Flor, the ordinance was approved in December 2025 as an amendment to the city’s 1995 mendicancy regulation.
The ordinance that is now in effect aims to curb the increase in mendicancy and exploitation of children, Salanga said.
The ordinance states that any person who encourages or abets mendicancy by giving money directly to mendicants, exploited infants, or minors on streets, public roads, sidewalks, and parks shall be imposed a fine of ₱500.
Authorized personnel of the Bacolod City Mendicancy Management Division (BCMMD) are tasked with issuing citation tickets and are authorized to confiscate a government-issued identification card (ID) from the violator.
If a violator is caught a second time, they face a fine of ₱1,000, imprisonment for one day, or both, at the discretion of the court.
Any mendicant found begging with the use of violence, threats, intimidation, or force shall be imposed a fine of ₱5,000 or face imprisonment for one year, or both.
Additionally, an adult mendicant found begging in the street shall be subject to a fine of ₱1,000, one year of imprisonment, or both.
The ordinance mandates that minors aged 15 to below 18 years old found begging will be rescued.
Suspected mentally ill persons roaming and begging in the streets will be apprehended and referred for confinement and treatment at the Bacolod City Mental Health Center or other appropriate institutions.
This will be done with proper support and coordination through the Department of Social Services and Development (DSSD).
The BCMMD will operate as a division under the supervision of the DSSD, tasked with the prevention, reduction, and management of mendicancy within Bacolod City, the ordinance states.*