The community pantry on Maginhawa Street in Quezon City, which was set up to provide food items for people severely affected by the pandemic and which inspired others to open their own, was forced to temporarily stopped its operation after it was linked to the communist rebels by the government's anti-insurgency task force and the police, the organizer said on Tuesday, April 20.
In a Facebook post, Ana Patricia Non, who organized the Maginhawa community pantry, said volunteers had to stop distributing goods and accepting donations after they were red-tagged on social media.
"Malungkot po dahil hindi muna maipapamahagi ang goods na inihanda namin buong maghapon dahil po sa red-tagging na nagaganap (It is saddening that we will not be able to distribute the goods that we prepared all day because of the red-tagging incident)," Non said.
"Mabigat sa pakiramdam ko kasi maganda po ang intentions ko noong binuo ko ang community pantry at ilang araw na din po na napakaraming pinagsisilbihan nito at ganoon din po ang tulong na dumadating (It is hard for me because I only have good intentions when I decided to put up the community pantry and it really helped a lot of people for many days now, and donations are pouring too)," she added.
The community pantry on Maginhawa was dubbed as the mother of all community pantries in the country as it inspired other people to set up their own in various parts of the country that include Mindanao. The community pantry works on the concept of encouraging people to donate whatever they can while urging the intended beneficiaries to get what they just need.
Non initially established a makeshift pantry loaded with basic necessities and as soon as it became viral in the social media, a number people began to donate food items. The community pantry also debunked the stereotyping of poor people as greedy since testimonials in the social media revealed that they would indeed get what they just need even if no one is looking.
As soon as community pantries spread like wildfire in various parts of the country, the suspicion of some people and other groups started to become true--community pantries are now being linked to communist rebels.
Non herself posted several screenshots of social media posts shared by the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) through their official Facebook page, Quezon City Police District (QCPD), and other social media users alleging that the community pantry was a work of front organizations of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and the New People's Army (NPA).
"Ito ba ang taus-pusong pagtulong? (Is this what you call sincere assistance?)," wrote the NTF-ELCAC in one of its social media posts while sharing a photo bearing the face of Kabataan Partylist Rep. Sarah Elago, apparently suggesting that the establishment of the community pantries was associated with the CPP-NPA. Elago has repeatedly been associated by the NTF-ELCAC with the CPP-NPA although the progressive lawmaker already refuted the allegations.
The social media posts claimed that the establishment of community pantries was "being exploited" by the CPP-NPA to cultivate hate against the government, particularly to highlight the lack of assistance during lockdowns.
Non denied being a part of any communist organization adding that she is now afraid for her safety especially after Quezon City cops asked for her personal contact details during one of their operations.
"Humihingi din po ako ng tulong kay Mayor Joy Belmonte tungkol sa usapin na ito. Lalo na po ay hiningi po ng tatlong pulis ang number ko at tinatanong po kung anong organisasyon ko (I am also appealing for help from Mayor Joy Belmonte regarding this issue. Three cops asked for my number and they were asking if I am a part of any organization)," she narrated.
"Natatakot po ako maglakad mag-isa papunta sa Community Pantry ng alas singko ng umaga dahil po sa walang basehang paratang sa amin. Gusto ko lang po talaga makatulong at sana po ay huwag niyo masamain (I am afraid to walk alone as early as five in the morning to go to the community pantry because of the baseless accusations against us. I just really want to help and I hope you don't take it negatively)," she said.
The community pantry was an initiative that encourages the spirit of giving and "bayanihan" among the Filipinos. Its sustainability is banked on the principle of taking only what one needs (kumuha batay sa pangangailangan) and giving what one can (magbigay batay sa kakayahan).
Non initially established a makeshift pantry loaded with basic necessities, particularly food, but it has since spread like a wildfire and been copied in hundreds of community pantries in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.
As of this writing, the NTF-ELCAC has yet to issue a statement to explain how it came up with the idea that the community pantry was tied to the communist movement.
The NTF-ELCAC, a task force created by President Duterte to eradicate the threat of communist insurgency, has stepped up its operations as the top executive official ordered that the CPP-NPA be wiped out before his term ends in 2022.
However, the task force has been accused many times of red-tagging individuals and groups.