On Mon night, Jan 18, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) confiscated knives and toy guns from several street dwellers along Roxas Boulevard in Manila.
“The street dwellers were among the 39 people, including minors, rounded up by the DSWD along the boulevard’s service road and near the Ospital ng Maynila,” reports Rey Galupo in The Philippine Star.
The report noted: “Tension broke out between the DSWD personnel and street dwellers who resisted being taken into the agency’s custody. An old woman sleeping in a makeshift tent even threatened to kill herself.”
The DSWD later explained that many of the “rescued” street dwellers were beneficiaries of the government’s housing programs. Unfortunately, they allegedly “returned to the streets because of delays in the release of government assistance.”
The street dwellers were brought to the DSWD facility in Manila and Boystown complex in Marikina City. Those who yielded bladed weapons may face charges for violating the election gun/weapons ban.
