Badjaos to be sent back home–IDFI
The Iloilo Dinagyang Foundation Inc. is initiating actions to send Badjaos roaming in the city’s main streets back to where they come, before the Dinagyang Festival in January.
Badjaos, also known as sea gypsies, are usually from Tawi-Tawi, Jolo, Basilan and Zamboanga, and are generally boat dwellers. They are here begging for alms.
City Tourism and Development Officer Benito Ben Jimena said these Badjaos have become an eyesore for tourism.
He said the IDFI is coordinating with the Department Social Welfare and Development to help the city send the Badjaos back home.
We are not tolerating the Badjaos in our main streets, there should be a place for them, Jimena said.
Most of the Badjaos, including their children, roam in front of a mall in La Paz district, Muelley Loney area, Fort San Pedro, and Plaza Libertad.
Some four months ago, two large fishing vessels loaded with Badjaos reportedly docked along the coastal barangay of Leganes town.
In 2005, former Mayor Mansueto Malabor created the Task Force Badjao to help the displaced indigenous people return to their places of origin.
The Badjaos, however, continued to come to the city on board fishing vessels.
A man from Carles town who is married to a Badjao said that poverty and war pushed them to sail to Iloilo, which is peaceful and whose people are friendly to them.*
