The proponent of Maginhawa Community Pantry has expressed concern about the presence of police officers carrying long firearms within the premises of the pantry for several days.
Ana Patricia Non, whose project in Quezon City sparked the emergence of many community pantries across the country, said the presence of armed personnel in the area was one of the reasons why she temporarily closed the pantry.
"Ilang araw na pong may nagpupuntang mga pulis at okay lang po kasi ang nasa isip ko nandyan po talaga sila para tumulong and welcome naman po kahit sinong volunteer. Ang request lang po...'wag na po magdala ng rifle kasi baka mag-spark ng takot. Hindi naman kailangan (It's been several days since police started going to the area. But it's okay because I believe they were there to help and volunteers were welcome. But our only request was that they shouldn't bring rifles as they might stoke fear. They were not needed," Non said in an online press conference Tuesday.
"Wala namang threat and kukuha lang ng ayuda 'yung mga tao at saka para siguro mas madaling makagalaw ‘yung mga kapulisan (There was no security threat and people would just go there to get help. Rifles should also be removed so officers could move around easily)," she added.
Non also said police officers were repeatedly asking for her contact number and even wanted to talk to her, which alarmed her.
"Wala namang problema sakin. Kaso pag-uwi ko, doon ko na nakita ‘yung mga ibang lugar, sinasaway, pinapaalis, binibisita ng mga police and may pinapalista po sa kanila (I had no problem with that. But when I got home, I learned that in some areas of community pantries, volunteers were being asked to leave or being visited by police who required them to fill out information sheet)," she said.
"Yung pinaka-kinalungkot ko po sa nangyari and alarming na s’ya, pinost po ng QCPD (Quezon City Police District) sa Facebook, official page po, na ‘yung community pantry ay parang propaganda po ng Communist Party (What saddened me most was when the official page of QCPD made a post alleging that community pantries were propaganda machines of the Communist Party)," she added.
In the early morning of Tuesday, Non announced that the community pantry on Maginhawa St. would temporarily stop operations due to red-tagging concerns.
Following the incident, both Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte and the QCPD reached out to her to discuss the matter, Non said.
"Nagtitiwala din po ako kay Mayor (Joy) na safe po ako sa kanya (I believe that I'm safe with Mayor Joy)," Non said.
"Pero po sa QCPD, hindi pa po ako nagre-reply sa kanila kasi po parang pwede po akong safe, pero paano ‘yung community pantries sa ibang lugar na nakaka-experience din ng harassment? (But I have not yet responded to the QCPD because I might be safe with them, but how about other pantries that also experience harassment?)"
Non said they would continue the operation of the pantry on Wednesday, but they would have to ensure the safety of their team first.