Criminalising poverty: Legal legacies and the global struggle for social justice

Abstract

This article examines the global phenomenon of criminalising poverty, with a focus on the Philippines and its enduring Mendicancy Law of 1978. Despite constitutional commitments to social justice, punitive frameworks continue to target homeless individuals, vagrants, and beggars – treating poverty as a public nuisance rather than a structural condition. The study traces the historical roots of English vagrancy laws, especially the 1824 Vagrancy Act, and explores their influence on former British colonies such as Bangladesh, Kenya, Pakistan, and Singapore, as well as the United States. These legal legacies perpetuate exclusion and undermine human dignity. In the Philippine context, the persistence of anti mendicancy measures despite the 2012 decriminalisation of vagrancy reflects a fragmented policy landscape oscillating between welfare and control. Local government responses vary, with some enforcing anti-mendicancy measures under the guise of public order, while others pursue reintegration strategies. Methodologically, the article adopts a comparative legal‑historical approach informed by critical postcolonial scholarship, tracing how colonial categories migrated into contemporary statutes and administrative practice. It evaluates these continuities against international human‑rights standards, which condemn punitive responses to homelessness and poverty. The article argues that such approaches contradict international human‑rights norms and the constitutional mandate for social justice. To deepen the analysis, the study draws on philosophical and theological foundations of justice, including classical and contemporary thinkers from religious and secular traditions. These perspectives illuminate the moral imperatives behind social justice and challenge the legitimacy of exclusionary legal regimes. The article concludes by advocating for rights‑based frameworks that prioritise dignity, equality, and inclusion. Drawing on legal reforms and decisions from international tribunals, it calls for the dismantling of punitive legal legacies and the implementation of structural reforms that address the root causes of poverty. Only through such transformation can States fulfil their constitutional and international obligations and ensure justice for the poor.