Some street dwellers say extreme poverty, not syndicates, drove them to beg for alms

Some street dwellers begging for alms said they were not recruited by syndicates to beg in Metro Manila"s streets - and that extreme poverty and hunger forced them to do so. In Maki Pulido"s report on “24 Oras” on Wednesday, Aiza, a member of an indigenous tribe, said she came here from Lucena City in Quezon with her husband and three children. Aiza said she works as a street vendor back home and that she only came to the big city to beg for alms so that she could raise money and buy items in Quiapo, Manila that she can resell in Lucena City.