Taguig Mayor Lino Cayetano said he welcomes community pantries in the city but they need to follow strict health and safety protocols including social distancing.
Community pantries have spread in Metro Manila and provinces where people can get food and other items for free.
Several community pantries have sprouted in Taguig and according to Cayetano, “masaya ho naming niyayakap lahat ng gustong tumulong (we happily welcome those who want to help).”
“Pero kahit ho PNP yan at ang PNP at AFP ay marami rin hong mga community, either medical mission, relief mission sa Lungsod ng Taguig (Even if it is the PNP, and the PNP and AFP have many community, either medical mission or relief mission in Taguig). All of them have to follow our health and safety protocols,” he told PTV4’s “Public Briefing” on April 22.
He added, “Bukas na bukas ho kami at niyayakap namin lahat ng gustong tumulong ngunit kailangan ho mag-abide sila by our safety and health protocols. (We are open and we welcome all those who want to help but they need to abide by our safety and health protocols.”
Some of the community pantries in Taguig include the Molave Street Community Pantry in North Signal Village, Dulong Bayan Community Pantry in Bambang, Hagonoy Taguig Community Pantry in Hagonoy, and Taguig Community Pantry in Ususan.
Cayetano said private or government initiatives are welcome but they need to ensure safety to prevent any coronavirus disease (COVID-19) infections.
“We welcome it but at the same time, let's be conscious of our health protocols dahil kahit sino po, kahit gobyerno ang magbigay ng ayuda o relief sa ating lungsod, we want to make sure it's safe and that we do not cause any other infections or surges,” said Cayetano.