by Kate Alison Boyore
Last month, on April 14, 26-year-old Ana Patricia Non set-up a small cart on the streets of Quezon City: the Maginhawa Community Pantry – an initiative to help her community survive the pandemic through bayanihan.
However, only six days after its launch, it was forced to pause its operation due to red-tagging from the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) and the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC).
In several posts online, the QCPD and NTF-ELCAC claimed that community pantries were used as tools by communist-terrorist organizations to serve as propaganda against the government.
These claims, biased as they were, implied that the pantries were controlled by rebel parties and should not be entertained – this idea seeped into the minds of unknowing viewers and readers who took in the information right away as they believed in the “trusted” authorities.
In fact, there is chronic misinformation regarding community pantries till today.
Non posted on Facebook her frustration when she announced the temporary shutdown of the community pantries for the safety of the organizers and volunteers. She called this “bad news,” and indeed it is.
It is for the people who turn up at dawn to line up for help, for the several individuals and groups who found a way to deliver help to the needy, for the organizers and volunteers who provided their time and effort into making help happen – for all who dedicated themselves to the relentless bayanihan spirit during the pandemic.
Despite the baseless accusations brought by authorities to the community pantries, the spark of a nationwide movement aiding struggling Filipinos persisted as similar carts popped up in several more cities through citizen initiatives.
However, the unwarranted accusations have made it harder for more pantries to thrive as fear for their safety has potentially caused less organizers to start the movement in their areas.
This was made worse when Non was negatively thrust into the limelight by journalist and GMA reporter Tina Panganiban-Perez who solicited answers to a foul question that implied Non was related to communist parties.
The exchange occurred during an interview where Panganiban Perez asked Non this:
“Just to set the record straight, para rin wala na masyadong tanung-tanong or duda sa’yo, mayron ka nga bang links to communist groups until now or nagkaroon or ano ba ang basis nitong red-tagging sa iyo?”
(Just to set the record straight, so no more questions asked, or doubts thrown at you, do you have any links to communist groups until now? Or did you have any before? What is the basis of this red-tagging?)
To this, Non responded wonderfully: “sa totoo lang po, wala po akong links sa Communist party and napaka…pasensya na po pero ang dumi po ng question na ‘yan, kasi po last thing na kailangan kong i-explain sa mga tao ay kung ano ako, or sino ba ako, ganyan, kasi malinaw yung intensyon ko.”
(Actually, I have no links to communist parties, and that question is… I apologize but that question is dirty. The last thing I need to explain to people is what and who I am. My intentions were pure.)
It is difficult to progress when trusted sources take part in painting community pantries red.
I sympathize with the organizers, volunteers, and recipients of this initiative.
These humble carts were supposed to be perceived as resources for generosity and sense of community. It has since been tainted by the corrupt allegations of propagandism and association to rebel parties which are negatively viewed by the masses.
To make matters worse, the pandemic brought upon what I call a ‘draining season’, which not only sapped resources but normalized isolation. The few possible fronts of camaraderie and sense of community were robbed from those who needed it the most.
Most importantly, the people who found solace in knowing that there was a small cart of goods they could depend on to survive during the pandemic have now also lost their source of hope.
Community pantries were a way to refill the emptiness brought by the pandemic, and forcing these to stop their operation is akin to stopping bayanihan. The movement’s suppression was uncalled for.
When the carts of newfound relief just started to flourish, the undeserved accusations from authorities stunted their growth.
The government’s handling of the pandemic is faulty. Their ayuda program was insufficient. The financial and emotional toll on ordinary citizens has not yet been relieved of them. There is still no sight of a stable, back-to-old-normal Philippines.
Hence, if all initiatives are labelled as rebellious, then who and where will people turn to for help?
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