Party-list solons on Wednesday, April 21, have filed a resolution seeking a congressional inquiry into the alleged harassment, profiling and red-tagging of community pantry volunteers and organizers.

House Resolution No. 1723 was filed by Bayan Muna Representatives Carlos Zarate, Ferdinand Gaite, and Eufemia Cullamat; ACT Teachers’ Party-list Rep. France Castro, Gabriela Women’s Party Rep. Arlene Brosas, and Kabataan Party-list Rep. Sarah Jane Elago.

The lawmakers directed their appeal for an investigation to the House Committee on Human Rights.

They pointed out that even the Executive Department has acknowledged and hailed the setting up of the community pantries to provide aid to poor citizens during this time of a coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

“Members of Congress, as representatives of the people, are duty-bound to ensure that the Constitutional right of the people are protected and upheld,” the lawmakers said in the resolution.

“The organizers and volunteers who initiated the delivery of aid to the less privilege, do not deserve to be subjected to harassment and baseless accusations from the government itself that failed to deliver such services to the Filipino people,” they added.

Gaite, in a separate statement, noted that despite being criticized, the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict and Lorraine Badoy still continue to attack such initiatives despite Malacanang’s approval of the community pantries.

He said this only strengthens their demand for the abolition of the anti-insurgency task force and realigning its P19-billion budget to social amelioration programs.

“Threatening community pantries and its organizers shows that the Duterte administration is threatened by the power of the people to show solidarity to one another amid its failures and demand for better solutions to the worsening crisis in the country,” Gaite said.