Question & AnswerQ&A (PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 1563)
The title of Presidential Decree No. 1563 is the Mendicancy Law of 1978.
It applies to all mendicants, exploited infants or children 8 years old and below, minors found begging covered by Presidential Decree No. 603, and parents of exploited infants and children criminally liable under Articles 59 and 60 of Presidential Decree No. 603.
A mendicant refers to any person who has no visible and legal means of support or lawful employment, is physically able to work but neglects to apply himself to a lawful calling and instead uses begging as a means of living, except those enumerated in Section 4 of the Decree.
An exploited infant or child is an infant or child 8 years old and below who is used in begging or who accompanies a habitual vagrant or beggar.
They include preventive services, habilitative services, interceptive services, remedial services, and rehabilitative services—each aimed at preventing or addressing mendicancy and improving the welfare of affected persons.
They shall be apprehended as neglected children under Article 141 of PD 603 and committed to the custody and care of the Department of Social Services and Development or a duly licensed child placement agency or individual.
A mendicant may be punished by a fine not exceeding P500, imprisonment up to 2 years, or both at the discretion of the court.
A habitual mendicant, being one convicted two or more times, may be punished by a fine not exceeding P1,000, imprisonment up to 4 years, or both at the court's discretion.
Yes, they are proceeded against under Articles 59 and 60 of Presidential Decree No. 603 unless they themselves are mendicants.
They shall be punished by a fine not exceeding P20.
The Department of Public Information.
They shall provide socio-economic programs, establish reception and action centers, sheltered workshops, constitute homes, and other facilities to support mendicants.
It shall provide necessary measures to meet the health needs of mendicants.
The Department of National Defense is responsible for providing law enforcement and related services for implementation.
Two million pesos (P2,000,000) is authorized to be appropriated from the National Treasury.