The Public Attorneys Office (PAO) on Tuesday, April 20, ensured all community pantry organizers of its willingness to provide legal assistance in case they will experience red-tagging or harassment by law enforcement officials.
She noted that a community pantry is part of the Filipino culture of “bayanihan” or mutual aid.
“Huwag kayo mag-alala. Kung may huhuli po sa inyo na namimigay kayo ng pagkain nandito po ang PAO (Don’t worry. If anyone arrests you for handing out food, the PAO is here),” PAO Chief Persida Acosta assured.
“Kami po ang magtatanggol sa inyo. Ready po kami ipagtanggol mga kababayan natin na tumutulong lamang ay sila pa makakasuhan (We will defend you. We are ready to defend those who only want to help but get charged instead),” Acosta declared.
“Halos limang dekada na ako namimigay. Ibig sabihin ba ako ay red? Hindi. Filipino ako (I have been making donations for five decades. Does this mean I am a communist? No. I am a Filipino),” she said.
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra asked the authorities to leave alone those who organized community pantries in the country.
As for the Commision on Human Rights, it condemned the red-tagging and harassment of the some organizers of the said community food drive.
Quezon City’s Maginhawa Community Pantry has inspired others to design their own community pantries where people can donate and share food with those who need it.
However, Ana Patricia Non, the organizer of the Maginhawa Community Pantry, shared on social media that some of their volunteers have been forced to stop distributing goods and accepting donations after they were red-tagged.
Acosta told Non not to stop their community pantry operation.
“Kung sakaling may mangha-harass sa inyo, may mananakot sa inyo, nandito po kami para kayo ay proteksyunan (If anyone harasses you, threatens you, we are here to protect you),” Acosta said.
“Karapat-dapat kayo proteksyunan dahil may mabuting puso po kayo na tumulong sa mga nagugutom at walang makain ngayon (You deserve to be protected because you have a good heart in helping those who are hungry),” she further explained.
The PAO chief stated that she fully supports community pantries and urged people to help them or engage in similar activities, but she said that police officers have to visit community pantries to maintain peace and order, and to ensure that minimum health protocols are being observed.
