Local government units (LGU) were urged to craft guidelines for community pantries to ensure that health and safety measures would still be observed.
Although community pantry organizers are not required to secure a permit to conduct such humanitarian activity, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire underscored that minimum public health standards should still be maintained.
“We need to take a look at the other side, where it also poses a risk to our citizens because of these lack of standards that is being complied with when you have these community pantries,” Vergeire said in an ANC interview Monday, April 26.
“So what is being recommended right now is local governments to set up their protocols so that we we can ensure that there would be standards being complied with and so that we can continue on with this kind of activity,” she added.
Community pantries have sprouted across the country in the recent weeks after Ana Patricia Non setup a community pantry in Maginhawa, Quezon City, providing food and supplies to people in need for free.
The health official acknowledged the contributions of these community pantries in helping people in need of help in this time of crisis, saying that the DOH will not restrict people from setting up community pantries.
“We all know that there is this pandemic and public health emergency. We have to be mindful of what might result from any activity or help that we are going to provide,” Vergeire said.
“We are not going to restrict this kind of activities because it is a big help to our citizens but we have to be aware and we have to be cautious of the consequences of these actions as well,” she added.