Maginhawa pantry resumes operations on April 21 as organizer slams permit as 'unnecessary'

The Maginhawa community pantry will resume distributing and receiving goods on Wednesday after its operations were temporarily halted after it was red-tagging in some government social media pages.

Ana Patricia Non, the organizer of the Maginhawa Community Pantry, said they would resume operations but will have to ensure the security of her team.

“Bukas po itutuloy na po. Hopefully, po pagka po nakahanap po ng team na mag se-secure ng safety po namin at tsaka ng mga volunteers,” she said at a press conference.

(We will resume operations tomorrow. Hopefully, once we have found a team that will secure our safety and our volunteers’ safety.)

This, as Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte has already assured local government protection for the organizers and beneficiaries of community pantries.

According to 26-year-old Non, for today, the goods in Maginhawa have been brought to other community pantries near the area.

“Pero ‘yung sa Maginhawa po pause po muna talaga (today) dahil gusto ko rin po makausap ‘yung mga manininda, ‘yung mga volunteers po doon na ‘wag po silang mag-alala,” she said.

(But the operations in Maginhawa will be halted [today] because I also want to talk to the people and volunteers there and tell them not to be afraid.)

The National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict and the Quezon City Police District posted graphics on its Facebook page apparently linking the community pantry initiatives to the communist movement.

Non also slammed those linking her to communist groups.

“Last thing na kailangan ko is i-explain sa mga tao ay kung ano ako, sino ba ako, ganyan, kasi ang malinaw ang intention ko ay mai-set up na community pantry and makakain ‘yung mga tao,” she said.

(The last thing I need to do is explain myself to people. My intentions are clear and that is to set up the community pantry for those in need.)

“Para lang po malinaw, wala po. At tsaka po, tigilan po natin ‘yung mga ganitong pagbibintang kasi napakadelikado po lalo na po sa panahon ngayon,” she added.

(To be clear, I have none. Furthermore, let’s stop this kind of blame because it’s really dangerous, especially in these times.)

Non said it would be easy to stop the community pantry altogether if she was only thinking of herself.

“Pero hindi ko po gagawin ‘yun dahil may nangangailangan [But I won’t do that because many people are in need],” she said.

Unnecessary permits

Non also expressed disapproval over the idea of requiring permit for community pantries.

“Kung ire-require po ‘yung permit… hindi ko po maintindihan kasi kailangan ba ng permit ‘yung pagtulong? And ipapatong mo lang naman ‘yung mga goods doon,” she said. 

(If they require permits… I don’t understand why because do we need permits to help others? We only need to leave the goods there.)

Interior Undersecretary Martin Diño earlier said community pantry organizers should seek permission from the local government.

Should permits become mandatory, Non requested help from the local government to process theirs as she wanted to focus on helping the public.

“Ayaw ko na po patagalin and masayang po ‘yung oras ko madelay ‘yung community pantry, madelay ‘yung tulong dahil po sa permit. Parang tingin ko po napaka unnecessary po,” she said.

(I don’t want to drag this out and waste my time only for the community pantry operation to get delayed due to a permit. I think it’s unnecessary.)

“Sana po ‘wag po nilang ituloy ‘yun kasi po madi-discourage din po ‘yung community pantry sa buong bansa po [I hope they don’t continue this because it will discourage other community pantries in the Philippines],” she added.

Following the establishment of the Maginhawa community pantry, more community pantries have opened up in other areas.

Senators have slammed the “red-tagging” or linking of community pantry initiatives across the country to communist movements. -MDM, GMA News